Last week, hoping to see a bit of snowy Japan, we headed north to Nikko for a night. Ironically, the night before we left, Tokyo experienced its first real snow of the winter. The way there was beautiful, with the snow covering shitamachi in Asakusa and extending all the way to Nikko.

We purchased a Tobu Nikko World Heritage Pass, which saved us several thousand yen. Some sites on the internet say you need to show your passport with your “visitor visa” in order to obtain the pass and prove you are not residing in Japan. However, I could find nothing on Tobu’s site stating such. They didn’t ask for our passports or any proof so I suppose this restriction of “foreigner’s only” is either no longer the case or not enforced.

The top photo is of Shinkyo (神橋), one of the first things we saw upon arrival in Nikko. I’m sure it looks great in any season, but I thought it was very nice with fresh snow.

The Sacred Stables (厩神 or umayagami) can be found on the grounds of the Toshogu Shrine (東照宮). I didn’t realize the place was so famous until doing a little research after our trip as no one was taking pictures of it, even though I thought it was lovely in the snow. Actually, there were few people period, which is probably very unusual for Toshogu. A weekday in the dead of winter is a good time to avoid the crowds (and be very cold in the process).

Why is umayagami famous? Because of this:

The oldest rendition of the “see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil” monkeys (三猿) can be found here.

Posted on February 10th, 2010 under Japan. Tags: futarasan, japan pictures, nikko, snow, toshogu, winter. Comments: 1

I have finally figured out how to take this shot. How many times have you wanted to take a picture of someone indoors in front of a bright, outdoor background only to have one of the following three things happen?

1) Person comes out OK; background is completely white
2) Background comes out OK; person is completely black
3) Flash bounces off window making the background look like it just got sucked into a wormhole

I have had the above three items occur on many an occasion. Through trail and error and error and error… I have found the solution. First, make sure your flash is on. You may even need to force it to flash. Second, focus on outside target. Third, move so that you are not directly pointing camera at outside window anymore. (i.e., you should become more parallel to the window than your initial perpendicular focus required in the second part above) Finally, center the picture between the outside and your person and take the picture.

The outside should look good as it was your focus. The flash should not hit the window since your camera is no longer directly pointing at the window. Your person should also look good as the flash lightened them up.

By the way, this is Ellie on the 14th floor of a building on the Waseda University campus with the Shinjuku skyscrapers in the background.

Posted on February 9th, 2010 under Japan. Tags: ellie, shinjuku, waseda university. Comments: 2

Near Waseda University, Anahachimangu (穴八幡宮) can be found. The place was being refurbished when we arrived in August, but they finished in time for New Years. Loads of lucky charms could be, and were, purchased during January. You should also bring back your talisman from the prior year and pay the shrine (again, this time) to destroy it for you. How is that for clever marketing?

Posted on February 8th, 2010 under Japan. Tags: buddhist, lanterns, night photography, shinto, torii. Comments Off on Shrine steps at night

Ryan has grown about six inches since we arrived in Japan six months ago. He can eat continuously. So, for his 14th birthday a little over a week ago, it wasn’t a big surprise when he said he wanted to eat at Shakey’s Pizza.

“All-you-can-eat” in Japan was referred to as tabehodai (食べ放題). It still is called this, but, increasingly, all-you-can-eat buffets are referred to as “viking” or “viking lunch” so we went to eat like vikings at Shakey’s. I don’t think the vikings ever imagined the toppings that would be found on pizza in Japan. Seeing what is created in the Shakey’s oven is as fun as eating there. Nearly everything placed on the buffet is different and unusual, even if you visit Shakey’s frequently. They must have a hundred toppings to choose from in the back, which they seemingly throw together randomly.

On this day some of the toppings I remember included mango, BBQ chicken, corn, cabbage, potato, anko (red bean paste), strawberries, marshmallows, corn flakes, onions, squid, shrimp, brownies, hot fudge, cheese, mayonnaise, nuts, beans, pineapple, ham, peppers, and seaweed. I meant to take pictures of some of these pieces of pizza, but I was so hungry for the first plate (having skipped breakfast) that I forgot. My plate looked a little too gross for photography after several helpings when I remembered I had a camera in my possession.

You’ll be quite sick of pizza for a week, or more, after eating here. (This is a picture of the Takadanobaba store; there are many others including Shinjuku, Harajuku, Kichijoji, and Ikebukuro.) Give it time and you’ll be ready to go back.

Posted on February 7th, 2010 under Japan. Tags: food, takadanobaba. Comments: 2

Another shot from the Ebisu Garden Place Tower… I really love it when the sky does this.

Posted on February 6th, 2010 under Japan. Tags: aerial photography, clouds, skywatch, Tokyo. Comments: 2