4-2-2011

For my birthday I wanted to walk through Yoyogi park with glasses of wine while looking at sakura. I got my wish and also found some gloriously pink blossoms. The Japanese prefer the pale pink ones that are almost white, but I like these better.

12-31-2010

The Churaumi Aquarium at Ocean Expo Park (the site of the 1975 World Expo) in Nago, Okinawa has a lot of local aquatic life.  The main attraction are a trio of whale sharks.  Japan currently has five whale sharks in captivity, while the rest of the world combined has eight.  The three in Okinawa are often the focus of animal rights groups because of their status as endangered species as well as the fact that they are ocean-dwelling creatures in a small tank.

The critter posing for me in this photo is the giant Okinawan Spiny Lobster.  I wanted to eat him, along with the Japanese people muttering "美味しそう。。。" ("Looks delicious...") behind me.

12-19-2010

Found this in a garden in Arashiyama in Kyoto. Warm details like these can make you forget how cold you feel at the moment.

10-7-2010

This Thai parasol was a gift from Moo Cow.  I've been using it as a sun shade this week.

9-16-2010

Pinwheels are mesmerizing little things. These red and yellow ones caught my attention as soon as I saw them, but then the mist came up and I had to snap a photo.

9-11-2010

In Japan, summertime is the time for festivals.  While most major summer festivals involve fireworks (fireworks seem to be synonymous with summer), there are many smaller festivals that barely count as festivals by the typical Japanese standard.  Smaller festivals usually focus around specific interest groups or cultures.  This was a Thai Fruit Festival in West Ikebukuro Park.  It was mostly food booths and a couple grocery store-like shops, with a couple performers on the stage who were largely ignored.

That's not to say that these aren't great festivals; they are great, but they are largely ignored because they aren't part of the mainstream culture here.

9-4-2010

There is a Brazilian festival in Harajuku this weekend.  It seems a large number of the people who went to Brazil a couple generations ago have returned, or rather their children have, and they have brought a Brazilian twist to Tokyo.  It's nice to see a glimmer of multiculturalism once in a while.

So here I am, hot and tired with a plate of steak, sausage and grilled pineapple from Barbacoa, shown behind me.

9-2-2010

Hanayashiki is a small amusement park in Asakusa that has been open since 1953.  According to my friends and coworkers it is the oldest one in Japan and also has the oldest roller coaster.  Attempting to confirm these claims, I did a little research but was unable to confirm or reject anything except when it opened.  At this point it's accepted as fact, as much "common knowledge" is around here.  With Japan's history of historical revisionism I think I'll leave it alone before it turns into a huge search.

8-29-2010

 
Went out for Israeli food again, but that's already been posted here and the photos didn't turn out how I wanted anyway.  Need more practice with indoor lighting and using the white balance on my camera.

In lieu of my intended photos, here's the gate of the temple near my company's GHQ in Osaka.

8-25-2010

Went to Hanayashiki in Asakusa for work today and found this little waterfall and shrine.  Sometimes the little details here are the best.

8-14-2010

I didn't do much of anything today but there were a ton of nice photos from Hong Kong so instead I'll post one of those.  Here I am "supporting" the Big Buddha (Tian Tan Buddha, 天壇大佛) in Ngong Ping.

7-24-2010

This time of year in Tokyo it's hot enough that you wish you could hide out anywhere away from the heat.  Unfortunately, that's not always possible and you find yourself blinded by sunlight and barely coherent while staring at the bushes.

At least it's not raining every day anymore.

7-6-2010

The flowers in Japan always seems so much brighter and better than the ones back home. Is that due to care or environment or both?

6-12-2010

This weekend I kept forgetting to take photos and the ones I did take didn't turn out.  Instead I decided to post some photos "from the files" that I took on my travels around Japan.

The Daibutsu in Kamakura is quite famous.  I went in January to use up the last day on a 5-day train ticket.  It was a beautiful, perfect day to spend wandering on my own.  I think this photo best portrays the amazing serenity of the massive Buddha of any of the ones I took.

6-11-2010

The newest shrine I have ever seen (aside from the squirrel shrine at the Tokyo Marathon 2010 Expo, which was there to pray for a good run), nestled right up next to an office building in the business district of Shinjuku.

6-10-2010

Japanese graveyards are beautiful.

6-6-2010

Lots of places have these stone spheres as "curbs" or barriers.  I'm amused that they're chained down.

5-29-2010

The deer in Nara Park bow to you for biscuits.  They're a Japanese national treasure, for real.  Fat little things too.