Cherry blossoms over the Kandagawa (Tokyo, Japan)

Six years ago today this happened.

Posted on March 29th, 2016 under Japan. Tags: cherry blossoms, kandagawa, sakura, Tokyo, 桜. Comments Off on Sakura

Bridges over the Yodogawa (淀川)

Today’s photo is my random, desktop image of the day. I started looking at it in more detail and came to a strange discovery.

The three bridges on the right are obviously train bridges, the Hankyu Kobe (阪急神戸本線) and Hankyu Kyoto Lines (阪急京都本線) to be exact. In between is an automobile bridge, part of National Route 176 (国道176号). But the bridge on the left was a mystery. Nothing is on it. In fact, it doesn’t seem to be a road at all. Upon closer inspection I could see that it merely connects the two buildings on either side of the river. I dug deeper and discovered that the building on the other side of the river is an NTT building (NTT西日本淀川ビル). So I’m guessing that inside this bridge are a bunch of cables for Nippon Telegraph and Telephone.

Posted on March 24th, 2016 under Japan. Tags: aerial photography, bridge, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600, osaka, Umeda Sky Building 梅田スカイビル. Comments Off on Osaka Bridges

金沢城

Posted on March 22nd, 2016 under Japan. Tags: castle, clouds, kanazawa. Comments Off on Kanazawa Castle

Kotoshogiku on final day of January 2010 tournament

One of these days I’ll get back to Japan and shoot some sumo now that I actually know how to photograph indoor sports.

More than six years ago, when I took today’s photo, Kotoshogiku was a rather mediocre komusubi (the fourth highest rank). He lost this bout and finished the tournament 6-9. Recently he has been much better. He was the first Japanese sumo wrestler to win a tournament, this past January, in over a decade. In the current March tournament he is undefeated. Another tournament yusho and he could become the first Japanese yokozuna in a long while.

Posted on March 19th, 2016 under Japan. Tags: sumo. Comments Off on Kotoshogiku

Kyoto recycling

I found this junk pile just outside the entrance to the Temple of the Golden Pavilion (Kinkakuji). The discarded sign is for various film and print processing options. Apparently people aren’t buying film and processing prints anymore. Instead, the proprietor of this key location now has a bunch of vending machines which require little work and feature currently demanded items (bottled drinks).

Posted on March 18th, 2016 under Japan. Tags: kyoto, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600. Comments Off on Out with the old