小金井公園ビジターセンター

Today’s photo comes from a walk I did in Tokyo over six years ago. If I ever make it back to this place I want to visit the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum. In addition to the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum they have now added an indoor museum (江戸東京博物館).

Posted on September 12th, 2016 under Japan. Tags: koganei, water walks in the suburbs of tokyo. Comments Off on Koganei Park Visitor Center

Gate City Ohsaki sunset

Gate City Osaki (ゲートシティ大崎) is an artificial (urban renewal) city constructed on the Yamanote Line about 10 years before I took today’s photo in 2010. I’m not a big fan of such places, not being a shopper and all. However, the sunset on this day was lovely.

Posted on September 8th, 2016 under Japan. Tags: sunset, Tokyo. Comments Off on Gate City Ohsaki

Award Winning “The Birth of Sake” at the 2016 Ashland Independent Film Festival

One of my favorite films from the 2016 Ashland Independent Film Festival, The Birth of Sake, is showing on PBS over the next few days. See the trailer and check your local listings here.

Posted on September 6th, 2016 under Japan. Tags: ashland independent film festival aiff, Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 20mm f/1.8G ED Lens, Nikon D750. Comments Off on The Birth of Sake

倉

Kura means storehouse. These buildings were common during the Edo Era for merchants, or others with a bit of money, to store their valued possessions. They weren’t made out of wood, like most buildings in Japan at the time, so they could survive fires that frequently wiped out communities. You still see them occasionally when you get out into the Japanese countryside. However, in big cities, like Tokyo, they are now exceedingly rare.

This house, in Central Tokyo, was a bit north of my Nishi-Waseda apartment, maybe in Takada or Zoshigaya–I don’t remember exactly anymore. I’m not sure if they built the house around the kura, or if they built the kura with the house and merely designed it to look old. The entire property screams, “I have valuables that need protecting!”

Posted on August 29th, 2016 under Japan. Tags: buildings, Tokyo. Comments Off on Tokyo Kura Residence

Hideyoshi Toyotomi Statue @ Osaka Castle’s Hokoku Shrine

Hideyoshi Toyotomi began construction of Osaka Castle in 1583. Construction was completed just prior to his death. His family (the Toyotomi clan) held the area until Tokugawa took over in 1615 and the Edo Period began. The Hokoku Shrine was built in his honor on the Osaka Castle grounds late in the 19th Century.

Posted on August 28th, 2016 under Japan. Tags: Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600, osaka. Comments Off on 豊國神社 (大阪市)