Stardog Champion's Japan photo journal

Harajuku, Part 7: The next Orange Range - NOT!

2006-09-18T13:40:00.000+09:00

Continue off from the sideshow of goth and glam, and you'll see a show of another kind: Rock and Roll.

Every Sunday, about a dozen or so bands set up along the sidewalk that runs in front of Yoyogi park. Most of them are hard rock outfits, though you'll find the occasional poppy/acoustic groups as well.

Most of these groups are aspiring professionals. They've invested huge amounts of money in their equipment, and massive amounts of time into honing their craft.

Some are even lucky enough to get paying gigs in clubs around town. They have friends come along to hand out flyers to get people to come see them play. These shows they do here serve as a type of free publicity. After all, you have to get people to come see you somehow.

But what's most amazing is how the groups seem to have some kind of tacit understanding. Though the bands were all set up within only a few metres of each other, no two adjacant bands were playing at the same time. It's almost as if there's a gentleman's agreement not to try and drown each other out.

Harajuku, part 6: On the scene

2006-09-17T13:18:00.000+09:00

On this particular day, the place was buzzing with members of the press. These two were obviously part of of some TV show. I suppose those who can't (or won't) get in here themselves still like to take a gander at the funky carnival that goes on every week. Perhaps they even like to live vicariously through these daring souls who have the guts to shake off the shackles of this conformist society and dare to be different.

Harajuku, part 5: Gettin pretty

2006-09-16T13:34:00.000+09:00

All this exhibitionism requires constant attention to details. It's not uncommon to see these girls pulling out their mirrors every few minutes to check their makeup. I can only imagine how much time they spend in front of the mirror at home getting ready.

Harajuku, part 4: Flair

2006-09-15T13:12:00.000+09:00

Some of the costumes can be quite elaborate. This woman, who works a regular part-time job during the week, got together with some friends to put together their own little show. When I asked her why she does this, she just said two words: "it's fun."

Harajuku, Part 3: Kendo woman

2006-09-14T13:07:00.000+09:00

This is Christine, an Assistant Language Teacher from the U.S. living in Tochigi prefefcture. It's one of the "country" prefectures, about an hour and half train ride away from the city.

Christine comes in to Harajuku most Sundays to put on her own show in the park. She's been practicing Kendo--the Japanese form of fencing--for a couple of years now. She thought it would add a bit of a different flavour to the Harajuku scene, so she decided to come down and join the show.

Harajuku, part 2: more Harajuku girls

2006-09-13T12:58:00.000+09:00

The girls come from all reaches of the city, as well as from the prefectures that encircle the city. Most of them look perfectly ordinary during the week. They wear their uniforms, be they for school or work. Their makeup doesn't stand out.

Nor can they afford to let it do so. There's an old Japanese proverb: the nail that sticks out gets pounded down. In other words, conform or be ostracized.

Granted, it's been changing a lot in recent years. Major celebreties from athletes like Ichiro with his spiky hair and goatee to Prime Minister Koizumi with his lion-like mane of salt-and-pepper hair have pushed the envelope of what is acceptable in everyday Japan.

However, by and large, these are exceptions. The rules are still very much written in stone. No earrings for men. No facial piercings for anyone. And certainly no tattoos. Dark suits. White shirts. Boring ties. 70/30 parted hairstyles. Conformity.

So when Sunday comes around, those who are young enough to get away with it--or wish they were--flock down to Harajuku to inject their lives with colour and flair. And those who can't do it themselves come instead to recapture their youth vicariously through those who still can.

Harajuku, part 1: Harajuku girls

2006-09-12T12:53:00.000+09:00

Harajuku station sits just one stop away from Shibuya. Technically a part of Shibuya ward, Harajuku is a few inches away on the colour spectrum of this eclectic city. It's famous for a number of things, but in recent years it's become especially famous for one thing: Harajuku girls.

Gwen Stefani popularized these denizens of central Tokyo in her music videos. But what you see there is only the tip of the iceberg. Harajuku girls come in all stripes, from goth to glam. They come to see each other, but most importantly, the come to be seen.

Shiubuya, Part 5: Preaching to the choir

2006-09-11T12:42:00.000+09:00

As with any lively place like Shibuya, anyone who goes there expects a bit of noise and crowding. Most of it is part of the atmosphere, creating a palpable energy that makes it all part of the draw.

But sometimes there's an element that creates a distatsteful dissonance, like eating a great piece of sushi with too much wasabi.

In recent years, there's been a resurgence of right-wing nationalism in Japan. These uyoku groups snake their way through the city in giant sound trucks, assaulting the eardrums of passers-by with their blaring martial music.

To make matters worse, they will often stop wherever there's heavy foot traffic to bombard everyone with their jingoistic tirades. Sometimes they'll even hand out flyers, but for the most part they just preach from atop their trucks, surrounded by bodygards.

But like any extremist movement, their words often fall on deaf ears. Nobody cares. They've heard it all before, and they have no interest. They just learn to block it out as part of the background noise, as they move on to the fun and excitement of this energetic city.

Shibuya, part 4: The Kanji Man

2006-09-07T16:11:00.000+09:00

Shibuya also has a plethora of different kinds of vendors and artists. Or, in this case, artist-vendors. This man writes customized calligraphy based on your name and what kinds of things you want written. People gather around and stand enthralled as the characters flow from his brush like a quiet river. He seems completely oblivious to the gawking crowd around him as he writes words that are as much art to look at as to read.

Look, I'm on TV!

2006-09-06T00:03:00.000+09:00

Just beyond the Hachiko statue is the Hachoko crossing. This is arguable one of the busiest crosswalks in Japan. It's at the crux of this city that's always humming with an electical vibe. The people crisscross here like electrons through the circuits of this massive metropolis.

The electicity is in the air too--literally. Giant TV screens surround the area, blasting forth advertising messages, music clips, and even a shot of the street below.

It serves as the perfect mirror of a city that never seems to slow down. Always moving, always buzzing, always vibrant.

That's Tokyo.

Shibuya, part 2: Hachiko

2006-09-04T13:31:00.000+09:00

The Hachiko exit of Shibuya station is a popular meeting spot for people of all ages. Most people hooking up for a day in the city choose this cute little dog statue as a place to find each other.

There's a rather interesting history behind this statue. Hachiko was a real dog--he belonged to a Tokyo University professor named Eisaburo Ueno in the 1920's.

Hachiko was the quintessential example of the spirit that embodies man's best friend. He would see professor Ueno to the station every morning, and trot out to wait for him as he came home at night.

When the professor died, his wife moved out of Tokyo. She gave Hachiko to some relatives who lived near the station, but he wouldn't stay with them. Every time he had a chance, he would dash away to Tokyo station to wait for his master.

Years later, one of professor Ueno's former students heard about Hachiko's constant vigil. He wrote about it, and the story quickly became a national sensation. People used the story as a symbol of the kind of loyalty they were trying to promote.

Eventually, Hachiko's popularity grew to the point that a bronze statue was carved in his honour. He was even present at the unveiling in April 1934. It was melted down to aid in the war effort during World War II. But even this couldn't diminish his fame. After the war, people petitioned for--and were granted--a new statue in Hachiko's honour.

Hachiko died in 1935. But even today, over 70 years later, it's no surpise that people choose to meet by the statue of the dog who would always be waiting for his master.

(Special thanks to Wikipedia for information for this article.)

Shibuya, Part 1

2006-09-02T16:35:00.000+09:00

First off, I want to say I'm sorry for not posting anything here in such a long while. The journal side of things requires a lot more inspiration, a lot more preparation, and a lot more something else that ends in -ation. If you're looking for lots of photos by me, hop on over to Stardog Photos and take a look.

So here I'm starting a new series on Shibuya. It's probably one of the busiest areas of Tokyo. This is especially true of the area surrounding Shibuya Station. Gigantic throngs of people descend on this mecca of shopping and night life every day. The ensuing masses form gigantic crowds as they push along to wherever they happen to be going, whether it be perusing the fashionable shops and boutiques, meeting friends for a quick bite, or heading out for a wild night of drinking and dancing.

The Suwa Shrine crest

2006-08-25T13:57:00.000+09:00

Just like Christianity has a handful of denominations, Shintoism has a number of different types of shrines. My friend Tetsuo tells me that the Suwa branch of shrines is one of the oldest in Japan, dating back as far as the 8th century. According to legend, there were forces in Japan that were trying to unify the country, but those who opposed it fled to the Suwa region, which is now present-day Nagano prefecture.

Tetsuo tells me that during the conflict, "imperial ( Yamato) forces had unified local Kindom of Izumo, and the second son of Izumo had fled to Suwa for independence." Since Izumo's second son had recognizable strength, the Yamato forces decied to recognize the rebels in Suwa as a self-governing kingdom, provided they never leave the area.

As such, the seal on the shrine is different from most others. The majority of shrines bear the imperial chrysanthemum seal. However, the Suwa shrines actually have the seal in this picture.

Interestingly enough, that is also used as the family crest of Tetsuo's family: Araki.

The ceremonial tree

2006-08-23T08:57:00.000+09:00

Please check out Stardog Photos.

Thanks for your comments yesterday. After going back to Photoshop, I played around with Sunday's image a bit and got it to look much better. You can see the results here.

Now on to today's photo. Like I said in yesterday's post, Shintoists tie shimenawa--sacred ropes with pieces of white rice paper--around anything they consider to be sacred. You can see a small one around this tree, now stripped of its bark and brances.

This is actually used in a very unusual ceremony. According to tradition, Shinto shrines are rebuilt every seven yeras. In the case of Suwa Shrine, they do it with style. Part of the celebration of the rebuilding involves giant logs like this.

Celebrants carry these logs up to the top of the mountain. The brave--or some might say crazy--men who take part in this festival then sit on these logs as they are slid down the mountainside lenghtwise. The men hang on for dear life (literally) as this giant log weighing 12-13 tonnes crashes its way down to the bottom. My friend Tetsuo tels me that every time this ceremony takes place, at least a few people are seriously injured if not killed.

I think I'd rather just watch from a distance with a nice long telephoto lens.

Crystal clear water

2006-08-22T14:54:00.000+09:00

Shrines also have purification springs for washing your hands before entering. The water isn't always all that clean though.

But Suwa Shrine is an exception. Being up in the mountains, far away from the grit and grime of the big city, the toxic cloud that hovers over a place like Tokyo is far, far away. This makes the water here clean enough to drink.

Here you see a very rare shot of Yours Truly on this blog. And after seeing this picture, you'll no doubt understand exactly why I stay out of my own pictures, and you'll also no doubt be grateful to me for never showing another picture of myself ever again.

In other news, stardog.shutterchance.com is up and running. I hope you enjoy checking it out.

The gate to Suwa Shrine

2006-08-20T19:29:00.000+09:00

Well, now that I've finished my series on my friend's dojo, I thought I'd go back to the mountains of Nagano and show you around a rather unique shrine. This is called Suwa Shrine, and there are a few things about it that set it apart from most Shinto shrines in Japan.

But like all shrines, it has a few of the basic elements, such as the torii, shimenawa, and shishi, also known as koma-inu.

The torii (which literally means "bird perch) is the tall, gate-like thing that stands at the entrance to the shrine. Though traditionally made of wood, some of the newer ones are made of concrete. This one is actually made of metal, which is somewhat rare.

Below the top of the torii, you can see the shimenawa. They also have pieces of jagged white rice paper tied to them, called gohei. These sacred ropes are tied across the entryways to shrines and buildings to ward off evil spirits.

Finally, to the left and right of the torii you can see the koma-inu. These lion-dogs also serve sacred purposes. The one to the right has its mouth open to ward off evil spirits, while the one to the left's mouth is closed to shelter and protect the good.

Which path to choose?

2006-08-19T19:46:00.000+09:00

(Foreword: I know this is a long post, but I ask you to read it all the way through.)

I've been struggling with a bit of a dilemma lately.

The original focus of this photoblog was not really about photography. It was actually meant to be more of a documentary on Japan. The focus was to be on written accounts of life over here, with a few photos thrown in to enhance the story.

But over time, I started to realize just how bad my photos really were. (Part of it was actually thanks to Suby giving a strong "me no likey" to a photo that I thought was really good. Interestingly enough, it was through Azhar's kindness in posting it on his blog for me that it (and this blog) got noticed in the first place.

Ever since then, I've been on a constant quest to try and take better and better pictures. It's been a struggle, but I've never been one to back down from a difficult task. A big part of it is due to the rather blunt, though extremely helpful tutelege of our friend Suby. Though I have a long way to go, I feel I've made a lot of progress in the past few months.

However, I still enjoy writing. I also enjoy telling stories and explaining things. I guess that's just a bit of an occupational hazard, being a teacher and all. And as such, sometimes in the rush to tell the story, the quality of the photos gets missed.

So, now I am faced with a choice of paths: do I focus on presenting only the best-quality pictures, and step away from storytelling, or do I accept that sometimes a less-than-perfect image will have to suffice to move the story along?

The say you can't have your cake and eat it too. Well, in this case, "they" are wrong, whoever they are. You can have it both ways.

So as such, I would like to annoucne that I am starting a new chapter in my photographic development (no pun intended). I'm starting a new photoblog on shutterchance. It should be up and running in a few days. This is where I plan to put only the best of the best images, with minimal descrpitions. These shots will be there for the world to judge as they are.

I will still keep Stardog Champion's Photoblog up and running, but I want this to return to its original intent: telling stories about Japan.

Also, don't be surprised if you find that a few shots end up in both places. Sometimes a picture can help tell a story, and sometimes, being worth a thousand words, can tell a story all by itself.

It is my hope that the criticisms I get from what I post at Stardog Photos will force me to improve the quality of every photo I take. This should result in better quality of the "storytelling" photos too.

And in that way, I get to travel both paths at the same time, and everyone wins in the end.

Arigato gozaimashita

2006-08-18T13:21:00.000+09:00

The class ends with a simple bow of thanks, as the students show their gratitude to their sensei for dishing out so much pain and suffering, in the hopes that they too may be able to do the same thing when the time is called for.

And as I wrap up this series, I would like to thank all of you who left your comments. I realize that the quality of these images was sometimes a bit lacking, and I thank you for your patience.

Smiles all around

2006-08-17T08:02:00.000+09:00

If you've seen martial arts movies, you will probably have the impression that those who teach the martial arts are cruel slave masters. You might think that they have nothing but contempt for anyone who dares to come to them to study. You might think that they teach through endless hours of pain and humiliation. You may even think that the teachers derive a sick sense of pleasure from doing so.

In Noguchi-sensei's case, nothing could be further from the truth.

True, he's a tough teacher. He has to be to teach at this level. But despite all the dealing and receiving of pain, everyone at the dojo enjoys the experience. And none more so than Noguchi-sensei. Just one look on the smile on his face--and those on everyone else's faces, for that matter--is all the proof anyone needs.

Bam!

2006-08-16T14:01:00.000+09:00

Sometimes a counterstrike is needed to subdue an opponent. Of course, it's best to deliver one after imobilizing him so that he can't react in turn.

Maximum pain with minimal force

2006-08-15T12:10:00.000+09:00

One of the major ideas behind this particular martial art is understanding how the human body works. How the joints go together. How limbs move. How the nerves relay messages.

Then, it teaches you how to exploit those things to make your opponent feel pain.

What's amazing about it is that it takes very little in terms of physical power to do so. All you have to do is understand torque, leverage, and pressure. And then, you have to be quick and clever enough to move out of the way of an attack, and then manipulate your opponent to immobilize him.

Notice here how the back of the student's hand is presed up against Noguchi-sensei's thgh. And all Noguchi-sensei is doing is putting his hand on the student's shoulder to make sure he can't move away. No big headlocks. No devastatig punches. No blood gushing out of any orifice. Just torque, leverage, and pressure.

Of course, it takes years to master these techniques. All of the students here have had years upon years of basic martial arts training. It's assumed that they already understand how to dodge, counter, and most of all, fall without getting hurt.

That looks painful!

2006-08-14T11:06:00.000+09:00

Part of the idea behind any martial art is to get a true feeling of how a technique works, from start to finish. And there's no better way to do that than to be on the receiving end of it.

It certainly can be painful, especially when certain techniques have the potential of breaking bones. However, it also allows the student to appreciate just what kind of pain they'll be dishing out, and whether or not they really want to go that far.

But not all learning has to be through direct experience. As you can see from the grimaces of pain on the other students' faces, you can quite easily learn vicariously just how much something can hurt by watching your friend writhe in pain.

Just throw him like this

2006-08-13T01:05:00.000+09:00

Noguchi-sensei is a great teacher. He'll gladly show a technique four, five, even six times until everyone understands it. And he'll even give a student plenty of one-on-one istruction to help with the finer points, making sure they're getting it right.

Oh no ya don't!

2006-08-11T23:57:00.000+09:00

The instructor, Noguchi-sensei, is almost 65 years old. But he looks and moves like a man half that age. He is so attuned to the art of combat that he can almost intrinsically sense what an opponent is about to do, even before he himself knows what it is.

In this particular art form, the focus is on using the opponent's energy against himself. Not a single move is wasted. The punch or kick is swiftly deflected, and the remaining energy is used to attack the opponent in turn.

The calm before the storm

2006-08-10T20:52:00.000+09:00

My friend Podgy was kind enough to invite me to his dojo the other day. He's been training in various forms of martial arts since he was 15 years old. In fact, he came to Japan originally to train, and he's been here for, well, much longer than I have.

Those weapons on the wall are not just for show, either. Granted, the majority of the art revolves around unarmed combat. But from time to time, the sensei will show how a particular technique can be adapted to a particular type of weapon.

During the busy times, as many as 50-60 people can be crammed into this tiny dojo no bigger than a house. Its reputation extends around the world; people come from all different countries to train here.

In the coming days, I hope to show you a slice of the gruelling, yet enjoyable training that these people undergo at the dojo of one of the last true masters of a fading form of combat.

Oh yeah, be sure to check out Podgy's Tokyo Talk for a slightly different perspective on Japan!

A colourful cabin

2006-08-10T01:16:00.000+09:00

I was walking along the trails near my friends cabin when I spotted this really colourful cabin. I couldn't help but get a shot of it.

Starting tomorrow, I'm going to put the Nagano series on hold for a bit. I just went ty my friend's martial arts dojo and got some pretty cool pictures. I'm still sorting through them, so by tomorrow I should have something to share with you all.

A big thanks to all the new visitors coming in as of late. Your comments and pointers are always greatly appreciated.

Dragonfly

2006-08-09T00:25:00.000+09:00

This is one of my first forays into the world of macro photography. The entire Japanese coutryside is abuzz with dragonflies. And they're so docile--I went right up to this one, only about a foot away with my camera. and it never moved.

Welcome to the Dragon's Cliff

2006-08-08T00:12:00.000+09:00

Well, I finally got the scratch together to buy my new camera. And it's a beauty. I'm so happy! And I'm sure you guys will be happy too, since I should no longer be posting crappy-quality pictures.

So, to get the ball rolling, I decided to post one of the very first pictures I took with my new camera.

Ryugasaki City--whose name means "The Dragon's Cliff"--has these dragon-shaped sculptures at certain roads leading into the city. This is one of them by Ushiku Numa at sunset.

Special shoutout to Suby for the post-processing on this image. Thanks a million Suby!

OK, now get me down!

2006-08-04T23:00:00.000+09:00

I guess enough was enough for her.

Speaking of enough is enough, I finally got myself a digital SLR! I still have a few shots in my archives I wanna post before turning my attention to the wonderful world of SLR photograpy. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy these last few shots from the matsuri.

Oh yeah, I'm going to be off to the mountains of Nagano for a few days, so I won't be around to post anything or visit any blogs. But it should prove to be a good opporutity to get some good shots. Let's see how it goes!

Stand and deliver

2006-08-04T08:35:00.000+09:00

A festival wouldn't be complete without children. They participate in all manner of ways, from just showing up in their cute little Yukata summer kimono to scampering around and getting everyone's spirits up to singing and dancing in the processions. These three kids are standing on one of the omikoshi as it inches its way through the crowd. They impress all around with their balance and energy as they chant along with those carrying the shrine, urgint them forward.

On a more technical note, I should apologize for the graininess of these pictures. All I have right now is a point-and-shoot digital camera. Unfortunately, it is quite limited in terms of quality of shots taken in low-light conditions. But I am on the verge of getting my first DSLR (yay!). Hopefully, this should yield much better results.

Hey!

2006-08-03T10:29:00.000+09:00

The streets of the city flood with a tidal wave of people, as hardy bands of men and women hoist portable omikoshi shrines on their shoulders. With a shout from the men in front, they trudge forth like an army marching into battle.

But this is a joyous occasion; everyone revels in the moment as they sound their frenzied yawp, proclaiming their devotion to everyone.

Taiko drummers

2006-08-01T22:33:00.000+09:00

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the Stardog Champion is back! I know you missed me, but I have returned to bring you all a taste of life in Japan.

And the theme here is summer. Summers in Japan mean three things: hot and muggy weather, copious amounts of beer and sno-cones to beat the heat, and festivals to revel in the heat with lots of beer and sno-cones.

Every festival includes at least one taiko drum performance. They're always so powerful--you can hear the drums long before you can see them. The energy from the thundering rhythms pulsates as it hypnotizes the crowd with a throbbing boom.

Secluded shrine

2006-07-26T09:56:00.000+09:00

So, some of you are no doubt wondering where I've been the last week. Well, I've been preparing for this summer seminar that I had to teach at over the weekend. It was actually a lot of fun, but there was also quite a bit of work that went into planning one of my lessons. And then I had no Internet access for the whole weekend, so I couldn't post anything or visit anyone else's blogs.

Unfortunately, I also couldn't really post any pictures from the seminar. So instead, I thought I'd post something I took back in Kashima. I really liked this little shrine, because it was so peaceful and secluded--a very unusual sight in Japan.

Eye on the prize

2006-07-18T22:50:00.000+09:00

Well, since I haven't been able to shoot anything decent outside, I thought I'd try something inside instead. This is my first attempt at a still life.

As an aside. I have a question for you: what do you think when you see this? Does this say anything to you?

Tranquility

2006-07-13T14:47:00.000+09:00

Okay, it's time to start digging through my archives again. I've been ultra busy these days and haven't had any time to get new shots. So I decided to show this for now. It's another shot from Kamakura's Hase temple.

However, summer vacation is only a week away for me. This brings time off to enjoy, and more importantly, festivals and fireworks! Hopefully, this should bring lots of stuff to show you fine people here.

A colourful experiment

2006-07-11T23:42:00.000+09:00

First of all, I want to thank all the new people who keep coming in to see my blog. You really make this even more fun to do!

As for this shot, I know it's quite similar to what I posted a couple of days ago. But I finally got my hands on Photoshop, and thanks to Suby, I know how to do selective colouring now.

As soon as I saw this Buddha statue with the red cap and cloak, this was pretty much what I had envisioned.

Wish I may, wish I might

2006-07-11T00:02:00.000+09:00

Buddhist temples sell special votive tablets, called "Ema" for people to write down their wishes. Hase temple in Kamakura had a plethora of tablets in a multitude of languages, wishing for all manner of things.

How come THEY get the nice clothes?

2006-07-09T12:39:00.000+09:00

First of all, I want to apologize for not posting anything in the last two days. Things have been very hectic with work around here to say the least.

Second, I want to thank everyone who's been coming in here and leaving comments, both recent visitors and those who've been coming for a long time. You make this whole process so much more enjoyable.

Okay, as for this shot, it was taken at Hase temple in Kamakura. For some odd reason some people like to dress up the little Buddha statues. They're usually dressed in red, but I guess someone had other ideas.

Sunset over lake Kitaura

2006-07-07T07:15:00.000+09:00

As the sun sets on this past week of some of the most direct, yet honest criticism I've received yet, I want to say thank you to everyone for all your comments. I've really learned a lot this week and I hope to use my new-found knowledge to do even better from now on.

Sparkly drink

2006-07-06T11:21:00.000+09:00

I want to thank you all for your comments on yesterday's picture, though there didn't seem to be that many. I hope the one I posted on Tueday didn't turn everyone off.

This was to be the fourth picture in the series. I actually took this one with my 2 megapixel camera phone.

Fenced in

2006-07-05T10:18:00.000+09:00

First, I'll explain this picture. Then I'll explain something else.

I took this picture up at Kashima Jingu shrine. The same place I took yesterday's picture. They have a small herd of deer there, but they're fenced off. It's actually quite sad to see these beautiful creatures caged in like in a zoo, when they should be living free.

Now, a few words about the challenge.

After reading the comments on yesterday's post, I decided that I'm not quite ready for Suby's challenge just yet. My archives are a little sparse, and they don't really have all too wide a variety of pictures.

However, I still want to keep posting. More imporantly, one thing I'm finding is that, by posting these pictures, I'm getting a lot of good feedback on how to make them better.

So here's what I'm thinking. For now, I'm going to simply post the picutres I was planning to post anyway, but not as part of the challenge. I'd like instead to get feedback on the pictures in and of themselves. If you think they suck, tell me why.

Because the strangest thing is, I probably learned more from yesterday's post than I have from all the good pics I've taken put together. So keep the remarks coming, no matter how bad you may think the pictures are.

In the meantime, I'll be reading the books I have on photography (including another good read through my camera manual to figure out a few things). Then I'll go out and try and recapture some of the ideas in Jide's photoblog. It's actually given me lots of really good ideas.

Suby's challenge, day 2: Soothing music

2006-07-04T10:54:00.000+09:00

Okay, it's now day 2 of Suby's challenge. I want to thank all of you for your comments so far. Don't be shy. Even if the comments are negative I want to hear them, provided they're constructive.

This shot was a textbook example of serendipity. I took the bike out to a city called Kashima last week, and went wandering around the grounds of a shrine complex there. I was in the middle of the wooded area when I heard this beautiful music comeing from somewhere.

I followed it down the stairs and saw this man playing an ocarina. He was nice enough to explain how he learned to play, and he even let me set up my tripod and take a few pictures.

Oh yeah, the reference shot from Jide's photoblog is here.

(This is totally unrelated, but it's for Micki: I made those penmanship books from alphabet practice pages from here and a few custom-made pages from here. They're great for kids to practice their handwriting! Sorry for adding this here, but I don't have Micki's e-mail :)

Edit: I think there's something important that I should mention here. Suby's challenge specifically said to go through my archives for the past month and look for things that I can either recreate or capture a similar theme of.

Well, my archives are a bit on the sparse side to be honest. And as such, some of these things are going to be a bit of a stretch. If I could go out and take new pictures to try and recreate Jide's shots I would. But since I can't, I have no choice but to work with what I have.

It's either that or forfeit the challenge. And that's something I am not prepared to do.

So here we go. Let's see what I can pull off.

Suby's challenge, day 1: My bike by a rice field

2006-07-03T11:17:00.000+09:00

Well, it's day 1 of Suby's challenge. For those of you who don't know, my mentor and harshest critic--and a good mentor must be a harsh critig to be a good mentor--issued a challenge. He told me to look at the archives of www.alakija.shutterchance.com and try and find five pictures from my archives that recreate or capture a similar themed image.

For my first shot, I decided to take Azhar's favourite pic and put it up here. The theme I was trying to recreate is captured in this shot. What do you think?

A rain channel at Hasedera, Kamakura

2006-07-02T00:59:00.000+09:00

Many places in Japan use either bronze cups chianed together or simpler chains like this one to channel the water from the roof. I really liked this one, and I wanted to save it until later. Then Tore suggested I post it immediately. (Thanks Tore!) But when Suby issued his challenge, I wanted to hang on to it in case I could use it.

Well, after looking through the archives of www.alakija.shutterchance.com (which I recommend you all to do, since it's fantastic!), I decided that I couldn't use it for the challenge after all. So I'm posting it today.

I have another photo that I'm posting tomorrow on Azhar's insistance (thanks Azhar! You rock dude!), and then the challenge, as they say, is on. Wish me luck!

Try and guess what kind of clinic this is for

2006-06-30T14:32:00.000+09:00

Hi folks. Sorry for not posting anything the last couple of days. I've actually been super busy with work, trying to put together a booklet of handwriting exercises for my students to do over the summer holidays. Yes, I know, I'm a cold-hearted bastard. But these kids' handwriting is almost impossible to decypher, so I have to do something about it.

Anyway, I've decided to accept Suby's challenge. But this means I'm getting really stingy with what I post for now, since I don't want to use up anything now that I might want for the challenge.

So I decided to go for a little levity for today. This is an actual billboard for a urologist's clinic in Kamakura. It never ceases to amaze me the kinds of things I see ads for over here.

Bamboo water channels at Hase temple, Kamakura

2006-06-28T20:27:00.000+09:00

There's something very zen about this. Simple yet beautiful.

Oh yeah, and Suby, I'm ready for your challenge, bring it on! I'm ready to take things to the next level.

Hungry Carp at Hasedera, Kamakura

2006-06-26T20:53:00.000+09:00

Many temples have ponds with these ceremonial carp in them. This pond had quite a few, and they seemed to be particularly hungry for some reason.

A raven in flight

2006-06-25T22:01:00.000+09:00

I was standing behind the Buddha statue that I showed in yesterday's post, when I saw this raven sitting on its head. I got my camera out to take a picture of it, and I was just in time to snap it as it was taking off.

The Great Buddha of Kotoku-in, Kamakura

2006-06-24T02:33:00.000+09:00

Well, first I want to say thank you to each and every one of you who have been visiting my blog over the past little while. I'd especially like to thank those who left comments. They really do mean a lot to me.

Second, I should apologize for going so long without posting anything. And then posting that last picture. I guess I should call that a lapse in judgement, which nobody's immune to I'm sure.

But I'm ready to get back to business now.

I took a day-trip with some of my students to Kamakura a few days back. My first stop was Kotoku-in temple, home of a Great Buddha statue. I'll call this my "baseline" shot, since I'm planning to post a few others over the next few days. In the meantime, I thought it might be nice to get a clean view of the statue from the front. I hope you like it.

Oshibori Penguin

2006-06-22T09:56:00.000+09:00

Hi folks. Sorry for not posting anything the last few days. Things have been really busy over here, and I just got my computer back from the NEC repair facility, so I can finally get a hold of Photoshop and start doing some cool image editing.

In the meantime, here's a little something from the archives. Here in Japan, restaurants give their patrons special wet towels called oshibori as they sit down. Most restaurants have them professionally washed, then sealed in a small plastic packet. They're hot in the winter, cold in the summer, and a nice way to clean your hands as you whet your appetite looking over the menu.

In keeping with the cutsey theme that's so prevalent in Japan, many people like to fold them up into cute little critters, and use the plastic packet to hold it together. Here's a penguin my friend Greg made the other day.

A giant saw in Odaiba, Tokyo

2006-06-19T11:00:00.000+09:00

This is yet another example of an oddball sculpture. Odaiba is a rather odd place--a mix of corporate buildings, convention centers, manufacturers' showrooms, and amusement parks/dating spots. Right along the road to the Tokyo Big Sight convention center, they have this giant saw sticking up from the ground. I have no clue why they chose this of all things, but I have to admit it does add another touch of levity to the place.

The Tokyo Metropolitan government building at night

2006-06-17T11:20:00.000+09:00

I was walking around the skyscraper district of Shinjuku one night when I saw the Metropolitan Building like this. I thought it was really cool how the spires of the building seem to be piercing through the clouds in the night sky.

An Izakaya Lantern

2006-06-17T00:37:00.000+09:00

Well, it's Friday, and I thought I'd show off one of my favourite shots to date. I've been saving this one for quite a while now. And since it is Friday, and the minds of many of us turn to indulging and imbibing, I thought this a particularly fitting photo.

For those in need of some liquid refreshment, a good bite to eat, or just a kind ear on which to unload their problems, these lanterns act as warm beacons in an icy sea. Many of the shops they adorn are little more than hole-in-the-wall bars, with barely enough room at the counter for a dozen customers. But the cozy atmosphere is what continues to draw people in day after day, and year after year.

I actually took this shot without a tripod, using my camera's Night Shot setting. I was surprised as to how well it turned out.

One more gravestone

2006-06-15T22:15:00.000+09:00

I thought I'd add one more gravestone picture before moving on. I took this one from a graveyard in the middle of a field along a semi-busy road. It's still a little weird seeing so many cemetaries around all over the place.

Now for some news...

My computer's been on the fritz for the past few months now. I haven't gotten it fixed because that involved calling NEC's tech suppot centre. My Japanese is just fine, but for some reason I get a little antsy talking over the phone. As such, I'd been putting it off for a long time.

Well, I finally called them the other day, and they even sent a courier to pick up my machine and take a look at it. I'm hoping that the repairs won't be all that expensive and I can have it back in a few weeks. In the meantime, I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Japanese gavestones

2006-06-14T21:11:00.000+09:00

It's been said that the Japanese are an eclectic people. This is true even in their religious beliefs--they're born Shintoists, marry Christian, and die Buddhist.

Most Japanese follow Buddhist funeral customs. They are very elaborate, from the cremation of the body, to the burial of the ashes, to the tending of the graves.

With family lineage and tradition being so important to the Japanese, most of them have their ashes interned in family graves. Each person's ashes is sealed in a seperate urn and buried under a family headstone.

Behind the stone, you can see long wooden sticks with names painted in elaborate calligraphy. These are called toba, and they contain the names of each person buried under the family stone.
Tending to the graves is also a family affair. Traditionally, the Japnese visit the graves of their ancestors on two occasions: the anniversary of their death, and during Obon, which is when Japanese Buddhists believe the souls of the dead return to their homes.

When they tend the graves, they first pour water over the graves to purify them, and leave fresh flowers. On the anniversary of the death, they also replace the old toba with a new one. It is also common to leave offerings: sake, tea, cigarettes, whatever the dead person liked in life. This is so that they can come back and enjoy the things they loved while they were still alive. It's also so that they remember that their families have not forgotten about how they lived.

A Japanese cemetary

2006-06-13T14:48:00.000+09:00

This is a rather large cemetary that I passed by one time on my bike. It's actually very large compared to a lot of cemetaries I see out here. Some of them are only a dozen or so gravestones crammed together in a spot in the middle of a rice field. More often than not, those ones are simply family plots. But this one seems to be owned by a company of some kind and professionally maintained.

Weird sculpture from Tsukuba Expo '85 site

2006-06-12T14:17:00.000+09:00

Some people say I think too much about things. This may be true. But when I see something like this, I have to wonder about a lot of things.

In a previous post, I showed one of the neglected remenants of the World Expo Tuskuba City held back in 1985. Today, I thought I'd show you one of the more polshed ones.

This sculpture sits right on the fence of what's left of the old Expo site. The upper part actually straddles the fence, not unlike my opinion of this sculpture. On the one hand, I admire artists who are willing to experiment in visual media. On the other, I think it's kind of a strange-looking piece of art.

Still, I have to wonder how much money went into commissioning it.

In his book Dogs and Demons: Tales from the dark side of modern Japan, Alex Kerr paints an ominous picture of Japanese government and bureaucracy. In one chapter, he discusses how the Japanese government relies on pork barrel projects to generate votes.

Basically, he says that many rural areas have few industries. Few industries mean few jobs. Few jobs lead to an unhappy populace. And an unhappy populace is likely to vent its anger toward the government by voting them out.

As such, the government sinks billions of yen a year into construction projects to provide jobs for people. Whether the projects are necessary is beside the point, according to Kerr.

In this case, I don't know if that's an entirely valid argument. After all, the World Expo did bring people from around the world, spending not only time but much-needed money in Tuskuba. It also put Tsukuba on the map as the new hub of technological research and development.

But still, I have to wonder. How much money was spent on building the site, including this sculpture? More importantly, how much was spent on all the consultants and the meetings and the traditional wining-and-dining that typically makes up a large part of the process? And was this sculpture really necessary?

Maybe I do think about these things too much. Maybe I've got a thinking problem. Maybe I need to check out Thinkaholics Anonymous. Who knows?

But I do like this picture. How about you?

May peace prevail on earth

2006-06-09T22:31:00.000+09:00

"1) Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.
"2) In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized. "

From the constitution of Japan, article 9.

This is something that many Japanese people are proud of. I see signs like this posted all over the countryside. Whether the renunciation of war is a good thing or not I don't know. But I do have to admit that the desire for peace is, to say the least, admirable.

Neglect and decay, part 3: No-hunting sign.

2006-06-08T22:03:00.000+09:00

"We Japanese love peace."

That's what I heard from someone one time when I asked them why Japanese people don't own guns.

That may be the ultimate reason, to be sure. However, a more pragmatic reason is the fact that Japan has some very strict gun laws. Handguns are illegal here unless you're a police officer or in the military. And rifles and shotguns are also very strictly regulated.

To say nothing of nearly impossible to find.

But an even simpler explanation for why most Japnese people don't own guns is that they have no use for them. Crime rates here are among the lowest in the world. And hunting is something most Japanese don't partake in.

In fact, I don't think I've ever met a single person in Japan who hunts. And even if I did, the only wildlife you'd see around here are tanuki (racoon dogs). What's more, most of the ones you would manage to see are nothing but red and brown splotches on the highway. Victims of urban traffic, not rural hunters.

Besides, as you can see here, Japan is pretty urbanized. It's been noted in many books, as well as newspaper and magazine articles, that very little land in Japan is unblemished by concrete and steel to some degree. Even if you wanted to hunt, there's really not that many places to do it.

I took the picture above from a spot along a very busy highway that runs in front of my apartment. By day, it's packed with commuters going to and from work (or off to holiday spots on weekends). By night, giant freight trucks rumble by, loaded so heavily that they shake the very ground like an earthquake.

Move in a little closer on that grassy patch, however, and you can see what has to be, in my opinion, one of the most unnecessary warnings anywhere: A no-hunting sign. Barely visible thanks to the weeds choking it off from view, the rust has rendered part of the writing almost unreadable.

Look closer and you can finally read it clearly. Whoever wrote the English portion of the sign also spelled "Ibaraki" wrong. Even a foreigner like myself wouldn't make that mistake.

This is not the only sign I've seen either. In the six years I've lived here, I've probably come across about a dozen of these. And all of them were in rather urbanized areas where there's nothing to kill.

So seeing these signs only leaves me with one burning question: is there a mad rash of illegal gun-hunting going on that I'm not aware of?

Neglect and decay, part 2: Rusted bus stop sign

2006-06-07T00:03:00.000+09:00

Busses are probably the most inconvenient method of transportation in Japan. They're expensive, slow, and cramped. A lot of the ones in my area even have wooden floors. It seems that the bus companies try to cut costs wherever possible just to stay viable. So it's no surprise that replacing or removing old signs isn't exaclty high on their list of priorities.

This is a bus stop sign near the police station up the street from my apartment. There's no bus schedule attached to it, leading me to believe that no bus actually stops there. Like the tobacco ad in yesterday's post, I guess it wasn't important enough to actually get rid of.

Note: it was about 11:30 at night over here when I first posted this. I'd just gotten back from the gym and I was completely wiped. I wasn't quite at my best when I wrote it, so I'm redoing it. I hope you like the new version better.

Neglect and decay, part 1: Expo '85 sign

2006-06-05T15:13:00.000+09:00

I live in a rather strange place; from here the glitter and grandeur of the big city begins to slowly melt away into endless stretches of rice fields and mountains. Far from the watchful eye of the Tokyo metropolitan government, things in the countryside tend to get missed.

Back in 1985--the year that gave us Back to the Future, New Coke, and Mötley Crüe's Theatre of Pain--the city of Tsukuba hosted the world expo. This actually led to the creation of a whole new city in Ibaraki prefecture, as well as massive amounts of transportation and technlological infrastructure.

Over 20 years later, there are several remenants of the then much-heralded world expo. Unfortunately, some of them are there simply because of neglect. Cabin Cigarettes--apparently one of the sponsors--put this sign up near where I live. The problem is, even almost a quarter of a century later, nobody's bothered to take it down. The once-vibrant colouring has long since faded away, like the memories of the expo have no doubt faded from the minds of the people out in the countryside.

Cutsey Cutsey everywhere

2006-06-04T23:03:00.000+09:00

Cute sells in Japan. You see cutsey characters everywhere: on cell phone straps, on tissue packs, even in air conditioner ads.

For some reason, this gas company agrees. They seemed to think, "why just paint our logo on the tanks when we can have some cutsey fairytale-land character on it instead?

These are actually the same tank, from different angles. I know they're not the best, but getting anything better would have involved climbing barbed wire and crossing train tracks, two things I am emphatically not willing to do for a photograph.

A rickshaw in Asakusa

2006-06-02T22:15:00.000+09:00

Sorry for not posting any pics the last couple of days. Like I've said before, the rain hasn't exactly been conducive to taking good shots. I have a couple of OK ones, but I'm going to have to give them another good look-over before I make them public, if I do at all.

In the meantime, here's something from the archives. These ricksaws, or "jinrikisha" as they're called in Japanese are still quite popular among tourists coming to Tokyo.

They're not exactly the most practical form of transportation, especially given how notoriously snarled up the traffic tends to get. But then again, you don't ride in a horse-drawn carriage because it's practical either, do you?

One other thing: I got a few comments on my last photo that there was too much "noise" and that different settings might have alleviated it. Unfortunately, I haven't got the slightest clue how to go about getting a well-lit shot in a dark place without using a flash. In that shot, I was trying to capture the ambient lighting of the room. If you were using the same camera as I was (a Canon Powershot A540), what would you have done? Please leave me a comment and let me know!

Music in Tsukuba

2006-05-31T22:29:00.000+09:00

I took this shot a day or two after buying my new camera. I also happened to have my tripod with me at the time, so I decided to try and play around with the settings a bit. I wanted to do it without a flash so I could show the ambient lighting in the bar.

The original shot was a bit dark, but I managed to make it much more visible thanks to the brightening function in Picasa. I know this is far from perfect, but considering how new I am at all of this I think it's not all that bad. What do you think?

Another crack at the little shrine in Tsukuba

2006-05-29T21:59:00.000+09:00

I took a couple of shots of this little shrine in a previous post. But the more I looked at them, the more I hated them. So I decided to take another crack at it.

While this one's far from perfect, I think it's a big improvement on the other one. Three reasons: I used a 6 Megapixel camera instaed of a 2 Megapixel camera phone, I got a much better angle on this one, and I used the colour saturation feature in Picasa to make it come to life even more.

This time around, I also got a shot of the sacred rope tied to the front of the shrine. I still don't know what this is called, though I'll try and get the name for it when I can.

Rice paddy at dawn

2006-05-28T13:46:00.000+09:00

I was driving home from a night out with my buddies when the sun was just staring to come up. I was in the middle of these rice paddies just on the outskirts of the town I live in, and I was so taken aback that I just had to get a shot of it.

The rainy season is just starting up here, bringing life to the young stalks of rice. In a couple of months these tiny little seedlings will grow tall and strong, blanketing the countryside with a rich, lush green. Then they'll turn brown, and the harvest will begin, providing the people with the food that they will all gather around the table to enjoy together.

A little update: I've been posting these pictures from my archives lately, for two reasons. One was that I had so many pictures that didn't really fit together into one particular theme, but I wanted to show them anyway. Two, the weather over here has been downright awful--the rainy season makes it nearly impossible to get out on the bike, to say nothing of not providing particularly good subjects for photos. Maybe I'll get out there anyway and find something worth shooting. Till then, I hope you enjoy the archives!

Junko's Bike

2006-05-27T23:55:00.000+09:00

There's a bar up in Tsukuba called Cork Head's that I like to go to. The owner is a really nice Australian guy named Martin. He's actually the one who got me into motorcycles.

His wife Junko rides too, and her bike is in the bar. A really nice Harley Davidson Sportster.

For this shot, I played around with the exposure time until I got the shot just right. In this case, it was a three second exposure. The ambient lighting in the bar was really nice, so I didn't want to use a flash.

Black and white bar shot

2006-05-25T22:14:00.000+09:00

This shot would have been even better if I could somehow have made the smoke from the cigarette show up. Any ideas on why I can't see it? I shot it with I think a 2-3 second exposure.

Bike impound

2006-05-24T09:17:00.000+09:00

In an earlier post, I showed a picture of a seemingly endless line of motorcycles and scooters lined up by a "no bike parking" sign. Every time I walk by the train station near my house, I see the same kind of thing, only with regular bicycles. I always wondered what happened to those bikes when they were left for too long.

The other day, I found out.

A lot of people who live in the suburbs commute by train. They have two bikes: one at home, and one where they work. And bikes are cheap. So when they get transferred to a new office or graduate from school, they often simply leave the bikes on the work side behind, until it gets picked up and carted off to the bike impound.

Carp Streamers

2006-05-23T21:28:00.000+09:00

May 5th is Children's day in Japan. Coming at the end of the Golden Week, it's a time to celebrate the blessings of children, particularly boys. There are several traditions that go along with this day. Families with boys display beautifully ornate models of samurai armour. Children eat "Kashiwa Mochi": special rice cakes stuffed with sweet bean paste wrapped in a leaf.

But probably the most fascinating of these traditions is the flying of the carp streamers. Many families in the countryside have large poles erected in their yards to fly the stramers from. If I remember correctly, they fly one large one to represent the father, and smaller ones for each son. The carp is a ceremonial fish, said to represent long life and good health.

Many cities also have lines and lines of carp streamers in parks as well. Some of these lines can be up to 50 meters long, with dozens of colourful streamers waving gently in the breeze.

Even families without fields to erect a pole in fly their carp streamers. These ones were hung up on the balcony of an apartment building near my place. Tradition is tradition, after all.

My first foray into the world of black and white

2006-05-22T09:05:00.000+09:00

This is a picture of a small fountain at the same park in Mitsukaido. I've always loved these kinds of symmetrical geometric shapes. But when I looked at the picture, I thought the colours were kind of dead. I tried a bunch of things in Picasa, but it still looked really bland.

Then I got the idea to try it in black and white. Boom! Much better. What do you think?

Sunlight reflected in a shallow pool

2006-05-20T14:34:00.000+09:00

I was walking along the footpath by this pool and I saw this shot line up just beautifully. I was kind of going for a zen-like look for this one. What do you think?

A plethora of colour: water pipes

2006-05-18T12:08:00.000+09:00

The park in Mitsukaido also has a really nice set of water pipes. These acually spray water during the summer for the kids to play in.

I definitely want to go back to this park when summer comes around to try and get some shots of kids playing in the water.

I'm not really sure which of these, if any, I like the best. I'm interested in hearing your ideas and opinions.

A really cool slotted roof: two perspecitves

2006-05-17T12:11:00.000+09:00

I like living out here. One of the reasons is that it's urban enough to get and do anything I want. The other reason is that it has acutal parks. Not the Tokyo excuse for a park (Yoyogi Koen and Shinjuku Gyoen excluded, of course), with the ground paved and a few trees scattered higgledy-piggledy around. I'm talking a real, open space, with grass and trees.

This one also has really cool sculptures and structures too. What's more, it has lots of colour to appeal to the kids. Check out the weathervane at the top of this gazebo: the colours are so bright and alive.

I also love looking at things from below. The lines in the gazebo roof are so cool.

A funky, colourful sculpture in a Mitsukaido park, part 2

2006-05-16T13:57:00.000+09:00

Here are a couple of different angles of the scuplture featured yesterday.

Taken from under the sculpture, looking up at the sky.

A sculpture at a park in Mitsukaido

2006-05-15T14:14:00.000+09:00

I was trying to track down a few friends of mine the other day when I stumbled on this really cool park in Mitsukaido. This is a really funky sculpture they had in the park. I'll be posting more pics from the same park in the coming days.

Engrish

2006-05-14T13:11:00.000+09:00

Anyone who's been in Japan for any length of time will no doubt come across a plethora of examples of Engrish: odd renditions of English words. Most of them are no doubt for decoration only, or poor transations of Japanese instructions and signs.

This is a sign for a video rental shop near where I live. And yes, they do have porn.

The Fuji TV building in Odaiba

2006-05-13T12:45:00.000+09:00

I'm going to take another shot at this one when I get back to Tokyo. I'm not really happy with the angle on this, but at the time this was the best one I could get. It's probably best to think of this as a "before" shot.

Shoutout to Azhar Chougle

2006-05-12T15:14:00.000+09:00

I just wanted to give a big shoutout to Azhar Chougle. He maintains The Daily Sunrise photoblog, and he put one of my pics up on the front page. He also edited it a bit to make the red even brighter and the shadows more prominent. I think it looks much better now. Thanks Azhar!

Night traffic in front of my apartment

2006-05-12T12:40:00.000+09:00

I'd always wanted to take pictures like these. The problem is, I never had a camera that I could adjust the shutter speed on.

I took these from the pedestrian overpass in front of my apartment, using various shutter speeds.

A farmer hand-planting rice

2006-05-11T15:35:00.000+09:00

Although the bulk of agricultural work in Japan is done by machine these days, some work still has to be done by hand.

Under Construction

2006-05-10T14:19:00.000+09:00

I'm going to be tweaking the blog for the next few days, changing image sizes and the template around. So don't be surprised if you visit it one second and something's missing or not looking right--it'll all be fixed within a few days I promise!

The Asahi beer company building in Asakusa, Tokyo

2006-05-10T12:10:00.000+09:00

In the Asakusa section of Tokyo, there's a prime example of the strange ugliness of Japanese architecture. The thing at the top of that building is supposed to be the golden flame of a torch. What does it look like to you? Leave me a comment and tell me!

Golden Week Gridlock

2006-05-09T14:18:00.000+09:00

Golden Week just came to an end this past Sunday. It's a series of national holdays in Japan. The first day is at the end of April, and then after a short jump, there's a small block of three holidays around the beginning of May.

This is one of the only chances Japanese people get to take a vacation. As such, the roads are so packed with cars that you can't fit any more in with a shoehorn.

I took these pictures from the pedestrian overpass in front of my apartment. The traffic going south to Chiba and Tokyo was snarled up for miles. Going North, it was a different story: smooth sailing.

That's because it was the end of Golden Week. People escape to the country at the beginning, like bees leaving the hive in search of food. At the end, they all come flodding back to the city, clogging the roads as they go.

Pine ball in front of sake shop

2006-05-09T13:40:00.000+09:00

I saw this hanging from the eaves of a sake shop in Narita city. Shops traditionally put these up if they make their own sake. When the ball is first hung, the pine needles are green, showing that the sake is still new. As the sake ages, so do the branches, turning browner and browner to show that the sake is mellowing nicely.

The crowds of Golden Week at Sensoji in Asakusa, Tokyo

2006-05-08T14:55:00.000+09:00

Golden week brings a welcome, albeit short, breath of relief for the working denizens of Tokyo and other places. For an ever-so-short time, they can shed their salaryman prison clothes and escape for a moment.

The only problem is, virtually everyone in the country is doing this at the same time. As such, they have to deal with one of Japan's biggest holiday headaches: crowds.

Here at Sensoji Temple in Asakusa, people are packed in like sardines as they shuffle their way along the shop-lined walkway.

The crowds are so dense that tour leaders often have to put up a flag just so that the group can actually follow the leader.

Japanese food: The first bite is with the eye

2006-05-06T23:58:00.000+09:00

The Japanese have a real penchant for turning nearly everything they make into works of art. Give them some silks for a robe, and they'll make a colourful, stunning kimono. Give them steel and laquer for a sword, and they'll make an ornate, yet supersharp katana. And give them a few simple ingredients, and they'll make you a sumptuous feast that looks as good as it tastes, if not better.

At a recent reception for new teachers at my school, we went to a fantastic sushi restaurant. The sashimi plates they brought out were so delicately arranged that it was almost a shame to eat it.

Almost.

But the sashimi wasn't all they had. They also brought out a plate of meat, vegetables, and tofu, that we then dropped into a pot of boiling water on our tables, cooking it just enough before diving in with our chopsticks to fish out our favourite tasty morsels. Even though the meat would only sit on the plates for a short moment, that didn't hamper the staff's attention to detail.

Even a simple dish of pickled vegetables is artfully arranged.

My private student is also a fantastic cook. Even though I've eaten many wonderful meals in her home, she always puts in that little extra bit of detail in the presentation to make sure that it's just right.

I also went to a great udon shop in Tokyo some time ago. The way the meat and vegetables are displayed in the pot before cooking is intricate to the point of being ornate.

This attention to detail doesn't stop at food, either. They even make a mocha into a work of art.

Is that a sign, or just a decoration?

2006-05-06T01:31:00.000+09:00

The sign on the left says "No bicycle or motorcycle parking." I guess some people don't know how to read.

Akihabara: Electronics Heaven

2006-05-06T00:57:00.000+09:00

The Yamanote line runs around the city of Tokyo in an endless circle, like the oroboros snake eating its own tail. On the northern rim of this endless wheel is the electronics district of Akihabara, which draws computer freaks and anime geeks like moths to the flame.

And I like the place too.

The place has dozens of different electronics stores, many of which are seven or eight storeys high. They are crammed wall-to-wall with every kind of electronics equipment under the sun, from computers to cameras to cookware. Most of the major electronics chain stores have stores here, and most of the latest and up-to-date-est equipment makes its debut here.

The amount of professional-level equipment available here is mind-boggling. This shop has several portable white backdrops--complete with camera stands and lighting--for shooting things like food or figurines.

Slip around to the backstreets, and you can noodle around the smaller shops. They have the more obscure equipment, like shortwave radios and power converters. They even have enough diodes, capacitors, and resistors to build a computer of your own if you were so inclined.

But of course, all of these wonderful electronics don't sell themselves. That's what campaign girls are for. On any given day (or night), you'll find them out in force, handing out pamphlets, toys, or tissue-packs, as they try to entice customers with their charm and smiles, like the Siren of Greek mythology. They're out there, no matter how bitterly cold or swealteringly hot it may be.

In recent years, a paricular fetish called "cosplay," short for "costume play" has become all the rage, especially among the techon-freaks. These girls were just a few of the many campaign girls out in Akihabara on this particular day.

Speaking of fetishes, another popular one is schoolgirl figurines. They are so popular that many of the electronics stores--once the backbone of Akihabara--are beeing shouldered aside by toy, comic, and even porn shops. This one draws its customers in with a full-sized mannequin of a schoolgirl, complete with the ultra-short skirt and big moony eyes like saucers.

On Sundays and major holidays, the Tokyo Police Department closes off the main strip in Akihabara to vehicle traffic, and turns the whole area into "Hokosha Tengoku," which translates as "Pedestrian's Paradise." The people who flock to the Electronics District can feel free to meander across the streets as well, poking their heads into this store or that without need to worry about getting creamed by crazy Tokyo drivers.

Come night time, the skyline of Akihabra is lit up with a rainbow of neon signs, dazzling the shoppers with elaborate patterns of light.

Hiking up Mt. Takao

2006-05-05T00:46:00.000+09:00

A friend of mine invited me for another hanami party. But this was no ordinary hanami: it was a hanami hiking trip. Most of the blossoms at sea level had fallen, but the tops of the mountains were an explosion of colour.

We hiked up to two mountains that day. The first one was more about views from the top than flowers, but they were fantastic. There's a river running next to the mountain, and it's one of the only large ones I've seen that isn't encased in concrete.

We also caught a glimpse of a small bay near the back side of the mountain, with houses clustered around the bayside.

There's a shrine at the top as well. If memory serves me corectly, Shintoism regards mountains as holy places, and as such many of the major ones have shrines on the top

This one was simple, keeping with the Shintoist value of austerity.

After the trek down to the bottom of the first hill, we began the journey to the second one. It was a much more arduous climb, taking about a good hour, not including the 20 minutes or so we spent looking for the entrance to the roadway.

At the top, the cherry blossoms were sill in full bloom, and served as the perfect place to spread out our picnic blankets.

But cherry blossoms were not the only flowers to see that day. We saw myriad different kinds of flowers, of all shades of purple, red, and pink.

We also saw another view of the river, along with the small footbridge we took across it it to get to the mountain.

Completely zonked from the long climb, and somewhat tipsy from all the beer and sake, we decided not to climb back down, opting for the cable car instead. A great way to end a great day.

The first annual Cork Head's Run for Sanity-Cos we ain't got none!

2006-05-05T00:18:00.000+09:00

About a month and a half ago, my friend Martin suggested that a bunch of us take our bikes on a ride up Mt. Tsukuba. Martin is the owner of Cork Head's, a bar that draws a large portion of the expat drinkers in Tsukuba. He's also the guy who got me hooked on motorcycles. Unfortunately, it took about another month for our schedules to converge, and for the weather to co-operate enough for us to actually go.

It was well worth the wait.

We all met at Cork Head's at about 12:30, and hit the road. It was my first time riding in a group like that, and it was quite a run. At one point, Martin and his wife Junko--both riding cruisers--pulled in front of a small red hatchback. My friend Brent and I pulled behind the same car a couple of seconds later.

The guy took one looked ahead, one look behind, and decided to beat a hasty reatreat. That was so cool!

Moments later, off in the distance we could hear the harsh strains of militaristic music drawing closer, like the headlights of a giant truck heading on a collision course. As we drew closer, we saw three busses decked out in Japanese nationalist symbols: gold chrysanthemums, sunbeam battle flags, jingoistic sloagans. And they were all blasting at a volume that could possibly challenge a Metallica concert.

Needless to say, we were not exactly eager to stick arond, so we slipped into the next lane, dropped gears, rolled the throttles of our bikes and zipped away before anyone could say Gaijin.

Not too long afterward, we made it to the foot of the mountain and began to slink our way up the mountain roads. The first road was qute a challenge. We had to drop our speed, choking off the throttle to throw the bike into a tight lean as we hugged the corners. Each straightaway was like a heavenly breath of air, as we tried to cover some distance before dropping speed again to make sure we didn't slam into the mountain wall.

The way down was really hard.

Martin took us down a road that seemed barely wide enough for one car, with more hairpins than a hair salon. My heart would jump up into my throat every time I saw a car coming up at me. And I also learned about the danger of pine needles pooled at the edge of the road: they act like ball bearings, as they roll under your tires, causing you to slip like you're on black ice.

But the scaries part had to be the idiots driving the rally-type sports cars up and down the mountain. They were going about ten times the speed that any sane person would go, and you could see the results of what some of their predecessors had done.

When I say predecessors here, I'm talking quite literally. All up the hill, the guardrails are smashed like strips of shredded paper, with the concrete in front of them streaked with tire tracks like plates of black spaghetti. Leads one to wonder how many people lost their lives on this road.

Despite these dangers, the trip was well worth it. When we got to the top, we saw some beatiful views of Tsukuba City. It was a slightly overcast day, but still clear enough to see the nature slowly melt into urban sprawl.

We even saw a little old lady tilling her fields, probably the same way she'd done for longer than I'd been alive.

After the trip, we stopped into a nice little hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant to warm our bones with some hot ramen and to recap the day's revelry on the mountain roads.

Sunsets over the Tone river

2006-04-27T16:07:00.000+09:00

I was riding my motorcycle across the bridge over the Tone river, when I saw the most beautiful sunset.

I thought it couldn't get any better, then I looked to my right and saw the silhouette of Mt. Fuji off in the distance. It's a little hard to see, but if you look in the bottom left-hand corner of the picture you can see it just over the horizon.

Hanami: a cherry blossom viewing party in Tokyo

2006-04-12T14:07:00.000+09:00

April. A time of new beginnings: the school year, the fiscal year, the work year.

It's also the time for the blooming of the sakura: cherry blossoms. After a grim, colourless winter, the soft glow of the pink blossoms is music to the soul, as it breathes life back to the world, signalling the beginning of spring. Weather forcasts even track the progress of the bloom from south to north. Small wonder that Japan chose the sakura as its national flower.

Almost all schoolyards in Japan have several sakura trees along the grounds. Schools welcome the school year with the entrance ceremony for new students. But it just wouldn't feel complete without taking class pictures under the brilliant pink canopy of the sakura.

April is also the time for another Japanese tradition: the hanami. Nearly everyone from schoolchildren to company executives to retirees flock to the parks and riversides in droves to sit under the trees and bask in the shadow of the beautiful sakura. They also bring sweets, lunch, and of course, drink. The smell of barbecues surrounds you. Beer and sake flow like water. Time stops for a moment as people get back in touch with nature, even for only a short while.

I went to Yoyogi park in Harajuku, Tokyo, for a hanami party with my friends not too long ago. People began trickling into the park early in the morning to stake out their territory with tarps and blankets. By the time I arrived at a little past 1:30, the entire park was teeming with partygoers.

There were all manner of revelers on this day. Most opted for the slow, easy pace of a quiet picnic. Others got a little more lively, as they belted out songs and called for endless toasts.

One group even decided to bring out a full sound system. Yet, in a true testament of the Japanese value of harmony, they were polite enough to keep it to a dull roar.

On this day we were treated to a little something extra special. We got to see one of the most important beginnings in life: a wedding.

The bride was looking absolutely radiant, as crowds gathered around to snap pictures on their cell phones.

Meanwhile, the groom's friends all gathered together to toss him in the air in a show of congratulations.

But like all things, the sakura don't last. In fact, within a scant week of blooming, the petals start to fall. As the winds start to blow stronger, the falling petals look like pink snowflakes as they drift in the breeze. They collect in small pockets on the ground, or in little eddies in the rivers below.

But as the warm pink subsides, it gives way to a soothing green. And while the sakura season is ever so short, it helps to remind us to sieze the opportunity, to soak up the experience for all that it's worth.

Dust storm

2006-04-12T14:03:00.000+09:00

I was riding north to Tsukuba one day when I saw a huge wall of dust in my path. The wind was so strong that day that it was constantly shoving my bike sideways like a bodycheck from a 100-plus kilo hockey goon. The dust blew up into the facemask of my helmet, almost choking me. I even had to close my eyes for a moment just to get through.

Hachiko Exit, Shibuya Station, Tokyo

2006-04-12T13:53:00.000+09:00

This is arguably the busiest intersection for pedestrians in all of Tokyo, if not Japan. First the traffic signals allow vehicles to travel north to south, then east to west. During this time, the sheer mass of people waiting to cross builds like midieval armies standing in formation, thirsting for the battle to begin. Upon the signal, the great throng springs forth, clashing in the center of the crossroads, as they push their way to the other side.

But of course, these modern warriors of the concrete jungle are in fact much more civilized; in fact, they simply slipslide across the opposing ranks as they weave their way through to wherever they happen to be going.

Then the light turns red again, thus beginning the wait anew.

Yeah, you're a real badass there dude!

2006-03-28T21:48:00.000+09:00

I see these kinds of vans around all the time. They're built to look big and scary. Call me crazy, but I think the Disney characters airbrushed onto it just ruin the whole effect.

A little shrine

2006-03-28T21:34:00.000+09:00

I just happened to stumble across this little Shinto shrine while I was riding my bike around Tsukuba one day.

I've seen small shrines all over the place, but they look professionally built. I've never seen one like this before. It looks like it was cobbled together with whatever materials were lying around. But it still has the traditional elements: a roof, the special woven rope with the paper streamer, and a platform for offerings. It also seems to be regularly tended, judging from the tea bottles left as offerings.

Strangely enough, it has a small stone pillar or something next to it. It has writing carved into it, now faded from years of exposure to the elements. It makes me believe that, though small, this shrine was important enough to someone to have such a tablet or pillar placed next to it.

Shinsho-ji, part 2

2006-03-25T00:17:00.000+09:00

Here are a few assorted pictures from the Shinsho-ji temple in Narita.

Railings and the rain column at the Pagoda of Eternal Peace.

A statue of some kind, though I'm not sure exactly what it is.

There was this really friendly cat hanging around one of the stone lanterns on the temple grounds. He was so friendly that he would just lie there as people came up to him to pet him.

The same cat sniffing around the lantern.

There he goes!

The Pagoda of Eternal Peace viewed from the garden below.

A little Buddha statue in an alcove along the wall behind the main hall.

A fence in the garden behind the temple grounds.

A pine tree by the pond.

My helmet resting on a stone in the garden.

The sunlight cuts through between the trees behind the waterfall.

Shinsho-ji temple

2006-03-24T15:14:00.000+09:00

From the streets, Narita looks like almost any other Japanese city: drab grey buildings, convoluted streets packed with traffic, the odd restaurant and shopping complex. But if you get to just the right place and look up to the top of the hill, you can see the brilliant spire of a pagoda piercing thorugh the otherwise mundane skyline.

Take a few turns up the narrow back roads leading to the top of the hill, and you reach one of the biggest and underrated temple complexes in Japan: Shinsho-ji at Narita-san. The temple grounds have a history that stretches back more than 1000 years, yet it is not so mired in that history that it can't re-invent itself from time to time. It is also unusual in that it houses both Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines.

The journey starts from the bottom of a long, steep stone staircase. There, worshippers wash their hands at the purifying well, the water pouring out the head of a golden dragon.

Up the staircase, visitors are greeted by the gate that welcomes all visitors, adorned with the traditional red lantern.

On either side of the gate are the lions that guard the entryway. These are part of the Shinto tradition, where the lion to the right has its mouth open, while the one to the right's mouth is closed.

The main hall of the temple is the place where the Buddhist ceremonies take place. You can often hear monks inside there chanting sutras in their monotone, along with the thundering sound of the giant drum and the clear ringing of the bell.

In part of the temple, worshipers can also buy fortunes, called o-mikuji. They put 100 yen into a slot below the red drawers, then take the copper box containing wooden rods and shake it, then turn it over and try and coax a single rod out. They then read the number etched onto the rod and take a fortune paper from the same numbered drawer. If the fortune is good, they keep it. If not, they tie it to a series of strings placed outside the temple. These fortunes are later collected and burned.

The temple grounds are also filled with a plethora of other buildings, each with a fascinating history. This is one of my favourites. According to the description, it was:

[o]riginally erected in 1722 and restored in 1809. This building houses the complete set of the Buddhist scriptures. They are all mounted on the shelves of the octagonal revolving casket. It is said that if you turn the casket one time, you will receive the same amount of Buddha's favour as if you read all the scriptures in the casket.

Up another staircase is one of the old main halls that was moved off to the side to make room for the new great hall that stands at the entryway today. Legend has it that the ropes they had at the time were not strong enough to move the hall. The solution the monks came up with was to ask the women in the area to cut their hair and have it woven into a rope. This rope was then used to move the temple.

If you look carefully, you can see five-yen coins strung onto bobby pins and fastened to the old incense burner. According to tradition, a woman who is seeking her true love will find it if she puts five-yen coins on one of her hairpins and attaches it to that incense burner.

There is also another interesting structure called the Gaku-do hall. According to the description:

This is the structure where votive tablets (votive pictures of horses and the like) are displayed. In 1861 the hall was built as the second Gaku-do hall in the precincts. . . . The fact that a full-scale method of construction was employed even for this tructure of minor importance indicates the profundity of people's devotion to Buddhism in those days.

One of the more interesting objects inside the Gaku-do hall is a large bronze globe. Made in 1908, it is actually a fairly accurate rendition of the Earth. It even has major cities in North America and Europe noted.

The pagoda for eternal peace is perhaps the newest structure on the temple grounds. It was built in 1984 in the hopes of promoting world peace. The monks collected peace pledges from world leaders, including Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and Pope John Paul II. These pledges were sealed in a time capsule, which was buried under the grounds of the pagoda.

Behind the pagoda is another long staircase that leads down to the temple's garden. The fountain and pool below the staircase, while not typically Japanese, is nevertheless a nice quiet place to sit and relax after walking around the temple grounds.

Behind the fountain are several walking trails. Basking in the serenity of the woods behind the temple, it's easy to forget that you're still in the middle of a crowded Japanese city.

Off to one side is a waterfall. While not exactly big, it's still quite beautiful. It's cloaked in shadows from the trees, though when the sun is in just the right position beams of sunlight break through from between the trees and cast light on the waterfall. Sitting there listening to the rushing water relaxes the soul as the stress of city life slowly washes away.

The Stoves

2006-02-28T08:52:00.000+09:00

In the coldest depths of winter, the temperature often drops to near zero. With no central heating in Japanese schools, the hallways are so cold that the students can see their breath, puffing out like escaping spirits. You can hear people all around you greeting each other, not by saying “hello,” but with a shivering “samui!” “It’s cooold!”

Obviously students can’t be expected to learn in such a frigid environment. That’s why at the beginning of December of every year, Japanese schools mark the beginning of a new season by wheeling in the stoves.

A “stove,” as the Japanese call it, is actually a kerosene heater. Most people have small ones in their homes, and the ones in a classroom are about the size of a large stereo speaker. When the day begins, the first student in the classroom inevitably starts to whine about the cold and tries to wheedle the teacher into turning the stove on. The teacher, being just as cold as everyone else, is no doubt happy to oblige.

The stove takes about two minutes to start up. During that time, the students huddle around with bated breath, like ice fishermen around the hole, praying for their lines to start dancing. In this case, it’s the dancing flame of the stove they’re waiting for, and when they hear the electrical buzzing that precedes the heavenly “poof!” of fire, you can almost feel the sigh of relief around the classroom.

Minutes later, the classroom is toasty. During lunch breaks, the halls are only filled with the brave and the active. Everyone else huddles around the stoves, like modern-day campfires. They sometimes even try to steal a moment in front of the fire during class time, until the teacher catches them and shoos them back to their desks.

Sometimes the stoves malfunction, sending out a creeping cloud of foul-smelling smoke. The smoke quickly engulfs the front of the classroom, and the students who were once anxious for their heat are now begging the teacher to open the windows and doors to get the smell out. Moments later, the smoke will dissipate and the students will once again bask in the warm glow of the flame.

But no season lasts forever. Come March, the frigid cold of winter will wane. And as the final days of the Japanese school year ebb away, the teachers begin their annual ritual of wheeling the stoves back to their storeroom. There the stoves begin their hibernation, waiting for another season to bathe the students in their warmth.