Goal Accomplished

Yay! I reached my goal!

I had a goal to post every day this month (save Sundays) and I made it!!

And now I shall crash into bed.

^_^

A River of Leaves

Because I thought it was pretty ^_^


Taken in March while wandering around in some old woods near(ish) Mt Fuji.

All The Little Ones...

Lots of little Buddhas, all lined up in a row. Looks rather cool until you find out they're all there to represent all the many children that have died young.

Tis a somber way to represent that fact, don't you think?

Golden Week!

Japan has a fun week called "Golden Week" since there are 3 holidays one after another that often fall within the same week. Because there are so many holidays in one week, usually, the entire week is given off and whallah! You have a whole week off.

This year, it runs from Tuesday until the following Tuesday and since I already get Monday off regularly (I work Saturdays), I get 10 days of vacation!! Whahoo!!!

So, posting might be sparse since who knows what fun stuff I'll get into this week.

Whee! ^_^

I am a bee...just a little bee

Isn't this a cool bug? It's a moth, but it looks like a bee.

Spotted this little guy it as I was walking down a random street in Kanonji.

Neat little guy, isn't he?

Symbolic Shot in Hiroshima

There's a lot to say about the Peace Park in Hiroshima, but I'll just cover what these pictures cover.

The Peace park is located, obviously, in the main area where the atomic bomb detonated. I really liked their set up of the park and I really liked this shot they aligned.

Behind me is the museum; before me, seen inside this arch, is the skeleton domed building still standing from the destruction. Between the two, is this arch and, beyond the arch (and really hard to make out in the pic) is the flame that won't be extinguished until all atomic warfare are dismantled.

Here's a close up of the shot within the arch.

Nice line up of symbols, don't you think?

Guard Post?

Fun thing about living in a foreign place is when you run across odd things and have no idea why they are there.

This tall guardpost-like building is one of them.

It's located in a small, random park by the river. It's really cool looking and though the doors are locked, it looks like the stairs would take you all the way up to the top.

I still have no idea why it's there, but I thought the design of the building was cool. ^_^

Some more shots, from different angles. I particularly like the angle of the one on the right and the birds in the distance.

Biking Businessmen

One of the things I love about Japan are all the bikes that people use. In America, bikes are often only used for recreational activities, not as a way to get around to where you need to go. But in Japan, with cities being so compact and the rarity of parking spaces, biking to your destination can be both more efficient and faster than driving there.

So, I love seeing school children hurrying to school on bikes, or a group of older ladies biking calmly to their destination.

But my favorite sight to see is a group of businessmen, all dressed up smartly and heading either to or from work, and all biking in a group. It's like they're carpooling, but they each have their own two wheels.

^_^ It's so much fun to see!

Pedestrian Rail Crossings

Trains. They are everywhere here in Japan. So, obviously, there is a need for many rail crossings over roads.

But what I love about Japan is that they have individual rail crossings for little walking paths, like this one in this pic. That's a biking path that has its own personal rail crossing. ^_^

I've even seen one area that had three paths within several feet of each other, all crossing the railroad and all having their own rail guard.

So awesome!

Miniturizing Piggies

Sometime back in November, I was just touring Marugame castle at night when I happened on a strange little scene:

It's the 3 little piggies! In miniature form!

Look! They even have the wolf.

*points to picture on left*

"Hi, little piggie. You may be small, but I'm sure you'll still taste good."

Isn't it cute???






Their brother's house now looks more like a brick oven than an actual house ^_^ I wonder he's supposed to sleep...



It looks like there was a fair going on, since there were a bunch of other things on display as well. I just really liked the 3 Little Pigs enactment. So cute!

The Birds...are watching...waiting...

Update: Despite the many obstacles the birds put in my way, I have succeeded in getting this picture to show up. Bwhahaha....

Now isn't this a creepy picture?

See all those strange shapes on all the wires, the tops of the buildings, and all the antennas? Can you guess what they are?

Here's a closer shot below to help you out.

Can you see them? They're birds! Birds! Everywhere!

I was just biking along the (covered) shopping arcade, heading for one of my schools, when I came out onto a side street. I'd been hearing the birds chirping for most of my bike ride, but when I came out, the sound seemed to have been magnified. And so I glance up and woah...

If you've ever read the short story "Birds" or have even seen the movie "Birds" by Aflred Hitchcock, you'd know what I felt (and thought) as I stared at all those birds, just sitting there.

Twas so freaky...

Just look at them; all lined up, just waiting...and waiting...and waiting...

^_^

Taken in November, so I guess they weren't really up to anything...yet.

This Way, Little River

This shot shows an interesting thing Japan does: a lot of their rivers and streams have concrete designs in them, directing the course of the water. Some are pretty and quaint, like this one, while others can be more elaborate with waterfalls involved, and still others can be hidden under the water and hard to notice.

Regardless, the Japanese put a lot of effort (and concrete!) in order to ensure their waterways go the way they want them to go. Tis interesting.

Escalators for Bikes!

Know when you see a flight of stairs and you wish it was an escalator instead? Now add in the idea that you're going to have to drag your bike up those flight of stairs as well as yourself and you're heartily wishing for an elevator or anything to do it for you. But that's a bit expensive for a city to put in, right?

Behold, the escalator for bikes!

See that black strip in the picture? You can put your bike's tires on it and the black strip will move and effectively help move your bike up as you walk it up the stairs. So nice ^_^

Especially when, if you don't have a bike but still don't want to walk up those stairs, you can make the black strip move anyway and it carries you up. ^_^ Course, you've got to have some good balancing skills since only one foot can fit at a time.

So much fun. ^_^

Gardens of Skyscrapers

Here, on the left, we have this lovely picture of a garden with a beautiful reflection of...a skyscraper?

I just found this picture to be very ironic. ^_^

This garden (Shukkeien Garden in Hiroshima) is actually nestled amongst the skyscrapers of the town, so it's really not much of a surprise to catch the skyscraper in the reflection. But it's main attraction are its many bridges and the beautiful landscaping design.


And for the fun of it - and because I just liked how it came out - a random shot of the setting sun on the water.

A Splattering of Red

I really liked this picture. I just love the little green fern, sprouting next to the three tall trees and the small stone steps, and lots of red fall leaves scattered everywhere.

Taken in Kyoto near a graveyard.

Ritsurin Park in the Fall #3

One last group of shots, then I'll move on to the other zillion of pictures for other places that I have. ^_^

First off, this shot and angle is the famous shot seen everywhere whenever Ritsurin Park is being advertised (though without the people in it). This shot is taken right next to the lovely and highly important rock I posted about yesterday. I think it's interesting these two are so near each other...

Love the composition of this one. Can anyone tell I like bridges and water? ^_^ But you have to admit, this one looks cool. It gives the feel that I'm deep within a jungle/forest, and I just happened upon this really old bridge crossing this calm river...

Yay for fall foliage!

I love this tree. It's not growing up, but forward! The sticks are there to help the branches stay up as they grow outward. Such a weird, yet so cool tree. This is actually a common thing for the Japanese to do with their trees. I think other cultures should pick up on it. These trees can grow into some really interesting designs.

And I'll end with a brilliant tree in its resplendent red amidst the green. Awesome, isn't it?

Ritsurin Park in the Fall #2

Since I'm on a Ritsurin kick, here are some more of my favorite shots I took back in November. Fall foliage comes late in Japan (in comparison with America), showing up in November and lasting into December, but it's worth the wait. Some of the trees can have such a brilliant red!

It's awesome. ^_^

Cute, quaint, little red bridge. I love how the reflection came out on this one.

I just like the composition of this pic, with the bridge and water, and the trees. So pretty ^_^

Again, I just liked the composition of this pic, plus it had the fall foliage.

This is the same angle as the former pic, but pulled out. You get more of the fall foilage and the beautiful greenery surrounding this lake. And don't forget the bridge way out in the back!

Let me present you this...rock

Up on a hill in Ritsurin Park is this lovely and somewhat oddly shaped rock. I would have probably have passed it by without giving it a second glance (cause rocks are, well, rather common, you know?), but then my eyes caught the sign standing next to it. The sign details why this rock is so important that it gets its own sign.

Here's a blow up of the English text:



Yeah, the feudal lord in Kyushu (another island to the west of my island) decided to present this rock from Korea to the feudal lord here. I've heard of extravagant gifts and of building huge things (like statues) in honor of something or someone, but gifts of rocks??

So weird. ^_^

Actually, does anyone know if this ever occurred in Europe? I know that within the Asia countries, it's common to give nature things (plants, trees, and apparently rocks as well) as presents, but is that also true of non-Asian countries? Did any Europe country ever present a tree or some other nature thing to another country?

To Alter: Better or Not?

Been playing around with photo editing. The below is the original photo from my camera.

Then I sharpened the view and saturated it with green and got this:

This pic looks like I took it during the spring in the early morning instead of the fall in the late afternoon. ^_^

Kind of cool what photo editing can do these days, eh?

Ritsurin Park in the Fall

Ritsurin Park is just a hop and a skip from my home, so I go there rather often. It's really pretty during the spring and fall times, and I was able to hit both of those times. ^_^

I really like the use of the ponds and bridges that are all over the park. They make for some awesome pics.

Here are some random shots I took of the park with the fall colors.

Goodbye, my lovely cave...

If the Sakura season wasn't a clue, we've hit spring over here in Japan. We're hitting 60 degrees now; I can usually go through the day with only one layer of warmth.

Which means, sad to say, that my good and faithful tent is no longer needed. And so, I took it down. *sniff*

Here is the empty room with the pile of blankets used to make my cave. Looks huge with the blankets all down and everything pushed out of the way, doesn't it?

Course, that just made the other room rather packed until I could put everything back in their place...

Himeji with Sakura

Because I heard that Himeji had a great array of Sakura trees, I did a quick trip up there.

I wasn't disappointed. ^_^

There are Sakura trees EVERYWHERE!! It was awesome! And the weather was sooo nice.

Here are some shots I took:

And another 'artsy' shot of the cherry blossom;

Pretty Sakura

Back from my quick Sakura trip! Went to Ritsurin Park, Himeji, and Miyajima. So pretty!!

I got a lot of good shots, but here are some of my favorites:

In Ritsurin Park - One lone sakura tree, hovering over a pond. I love how I was able to catch the reflection of the tree in the water. This was a very popular shot for the professional photographers.

Ritsurin Park again - Underneath a canopy of snow (aka cherry blossoms). ^_^

And two more 'artsy' shots:

I really liked how this one turned out. The white globe is a white lantern amidst the cherry blossoms and not the moon. Would have been cool if it was the moon, though!

Sakura, up front and center! Aren't they pretty? ^_^

Sakura!

And it's Sakura season! The cherry blossoms are out in all their glory and us humans are coming in droves to revel in their splendor.

I'll be joining the crowd myself, tomorrow, as I head on up to the main island. So excited!! ^_^

P.S. I took the pic above about two weeks ago, as they're just starting to bloom. The blossom whitens as it matures (though still maintaining some of the pink) but I just really liked how these blossoms turned out.

Help! I'm Stuck in a Clock!!

So, there I was, walking around in a random part of Tokyo (Ginza area), when I came upon this interesting clock...

Still have no idea what it's supposed to be symbolizing, but I think it's highly entertaining. ^_^

I especially like the guy on the top left. His expression just seems so..."oh my!", as if he just realized he was stuck in a clock. Either that, or he's singing his heart out about the joys of being stuck in a clock...

On top of Mt Ishizuki

Pretty shot of the top of Mt Ishizuki. I ran out of time (the lift carrying you down from a critical point stopped at dusk) and couldn't go all the way, but I was at least able to get this shot!

Really cool mountain, though. You get to climb up on chains to get to the top ^_^ Twas the main reason why I climbed the mountain. So cool!

Gardens - Japanese Style

I really like the Japanese gardens that I've wandered through. They're small, but so pretty and everything has a purpose. And some things can represent something, or try to do a visual trick (such as big bushes at the bottom and smaller bushes at the top to represent a 'mountain'). And I really love the ponds they use everywhere. ^_^

This pic is from a garden in Hiroshima. Very small, but they had some awesome bridges and cool reflections on the water, such as you see above.

The gold is from the building behind that was lit up by the setting sun. So pretty! ^_^

Genbaku Dome

Genbacku Dome - or as we know it in English, the Atomic Bomb Dome - was cool to see both during the day and at night. This building was located almost right below where the atomic bomb blew up in Hiroshima, and miraculously remained standing, though everything inside it burnt up like smoke.

This building is the most prominent one still intact since the bomb's detonation. I believe there are a few, random other buildings that also are still standing, but I didn't get around to finding them.


This other pic was taken from the other side. Both were taken at night, when the lights gave the building a creepy, green glow. ^_^