Posted on April 18th, 2017 under Japan. Tags: lanterns, miyajima, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600, shinto. Comments Off on 厳島神社

The Miyazawa family chooses Pikachu. I took this photo seven years ago this month on my way up Takeda Dori during the Shingen-ko Festival (信玄公祭り).

Posted on April 16th, 2017 under Japan. Tags: buddhist, cemetery, kofu. Comments Off on Pi-ka-chu?

@TuttleBooks

I just finished Japan Journeys: Famous Woodblock Prints of Cultural Sights in Japan by Andreas Marks. This is mostly a picture book, featuring about 200 Japanese woodblock prints (ukiyo-e / 浮世絵). Artists include Hokusai (北斎), Hiroshige (広重), Utamaro (歌麿), and Kunisada (国貞).

The prints include a brief description and some historical context. They are arranged by location.

While I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I have a couple of critiques/recommendations should anyone want to do something similar.

The first is that some, if not many, of the ukiyo-e are too small. The book is inexpensive (under $20 for a hardback and all in full color), but I would have preferred a larger book, both in terms of page size and length, so that the prints could be seen in more detail. Some of them are stamp size, and they all should have been at least 8″ on the short side.

The second is that I would have liked to have also seen modern photos of these places, even if the places look radically different today. I’m imagining something like what I’ve done here and here.

Posted on April 14th, 2017 under Japan. Tags: book review, books, ukiyo-e. Comments Off on Japan Journeys

応援団 for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp (広島東洋カープ)

If you ever go to a baseball game in Japan, you want to sit in the oendan (応援団). This is the cheering section, and it’s way more fun than anywhere else, even though they are the farthest from home plate. These are the cheap seats but also the fun seats.

On this hot and humid day in Hiroshima the cheap seats were sold out so I was forced to buy a seat near third base. The views were better, but the best part was that the kind, little, old Japanese lady next to me used her fan on me the entire game like I was her son or something.

Posted on April 11th, 2017 under Japan. Tags: baseball, hiroshima, Nikon AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED Telephoto Lens, Nikon D600. Comments Off on Carp fans

霊泉　鶴の井戸（櫛田神社）

At the well of the crane in Fukuoka you can partake from the holy springs on the grounds of Kushida Shrine. The sign says that your first drink will give you perpetual youth, your second drink will give your family perpetual youth, and your third drink will give your friends perpetual youth. I don’t remember if I pertook, but if I did, it hasn’t worked.

Posted on April 8th, 2017 under Japan. Tags: fukuoka, kushida jinja, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600, shinto. Comments Off on Holy water @ Kushida Jinja