In Taito-Ku in Tokyo there remains a pleasure quarter where sex for money isn’t legal, but paying someone to give you a bath for a certain amount of time is. If sex happens during your soaping activities then it is considered consensual and legal. Soaplands (as they are called) aren’t the only such businesses in the area, but it is hard to miss them should you stroll through this part of town (dubbed “Yoshiwara” after the old red light district in Tokyo which no longer exists). When the buildings feature the type of exterior shown in today’s photo they are really, really hard to miss even if you have no idea what is going on inside.

Posted on August 17th, 2012 under Japan. Tags: buildings, Tokyo. Comments Off on Fancy brothel in Tokyo’s Yoshiwara

I have listened to the koto many times in Japan, but the chance in the USA is pretty rare. When Mitsuki Dazai comes down from Eugene, Oregon to play at the OSF Green Show I try to be there. Here are some more photos from her performance last Saturday night in Ashland.

Posted on August 14th, 2012 under Japan, Oregon. Tags: concert photography, Nikon AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED Telephoto Lens, nikon d7000, people. Comments Off on Mitsuki Dazai on the Japanese koto (琴)

I’ve posted photos of ema before. This one I saw in Nikko at Futarasan Jinja. Basically, for just a few hundred yen your wishes will come true thanks to the gods of the Futarasan Shrine. The happy couple here is Yuko 裕子 (or possibly Hiroko) and Masanori 正典 (I think). One of them wished for good relations (the heart indicating a romantic relationship I suppose) between the two of them for a long time. For all the reader knows, though, the one may not even know the other exists at this point.

Posted on August 12th, 2012 under Japan. Tags: ema, futarasan, nikko, snow. Comments Off on Love Ema from Futarasan Shrine (二荒山神社)

Yakuo-in Temple is a famous place in Tokyo for peonies (in April). The original flowers were brought from the Hasedera Temple in Nara Prefecture. However, if you go around to the graveyard at the back of the temple in April you will find loads of wisteria as well.

The address is 4-8-2 Shimo-Ochiai and the flowers are usually at their best between April 10 and May 1. Yakuoin is a five-minute walk from Shimo-Ochiai Station on the Seibu-Shinjuku Line or a 10-minute walk from Takadanobaba Station.

Posted on August 2nd, 2012 under Japan. Tags: buddhist, flower lovers guide to tokyo, takadanobaba. Comments Off on Wisteria (藤 or fuji)

In just a few days we will mark two years since our departure from Japan. Today’s photo is of my last glimpse of Japan in early August of 2010. Japan is extremely green in the summer after a month of rain in June. The rice paddies are fairly mature this time of year too so it’s probably the best season for taking photos from the air. We departed from Narita Airport so this is the coast in Chiba or Ibaraki Prefecture (just south of the now famous Fukushima Prefecture). The little bit of land sticking out in the top of this pic may be where Chiba turns into Ibaraki.

Posted on July 31st, 2012 under Japan. Tags: aerial photography. Comments Off on Coast of Japan