Sakura
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Posts tagged 桜
Sakura countdown
In just one more month, my favorite part of Tokyo (Yanaka) will look like this. I took today’s photo of some of Tokyo’s finest cherry blossoms at Tennoji (天王寺) on April 8, 2010.
More Sakura Haiku
夜明け前桜の下はばかばかり
Here is another of the sakura haiku along the Kanda River in Tokyo. This one reads yoakemae, sakuranoshitawa, baka bakari and means, “Before the dawn, beneath the cherry blossoms, nothing but idiots.” There are a couple of funny things about this one.
Without experiencing a nighttime hanami (flower viewing party) it is difficult to grasp just how crazy these parties can become. Nearly everyone is beyond intoxicated. Hence the “idiots” reference. The other thing about this haiku is the play on words. “Baka” means “idiot” and “bakari” means “only” or “nothing but”. Saying them back to back has a ring of “super idiot” since it starts out “bakabaka”. “Bakabakashii” is actually the adjective form of “baka”.
Anyway, seeing this sign brought a smile to my face. I’m guessing the author (あゆぞう which may have a meaning of its own that I’m not aware of) lives nearby and has to put up with the nightly noise that goes on for more than a week during cherry blossom viewing season.
Japanese Castle Moat?
At first glance, this scene may look like a moat surrounding a Japanese castle with the cherry blossoms in bloom. Actually, this is the Kanda River with one of Chinzanso’s restaurants in the background (Mokushundo–木春堂–to be exact). While I walked the grounds many times, I never did eat at one of the restaurants on the property. The environment was top notch, no doubt, but I just couldn’t hand over several times more cash at these establishments than what similar meals would cost a short walk away.
Macro shooting with Nikon D7000 18-200mm VR II lens
Today’s photo wasn’t taken in Japan. I took it last week on the SOU campus. It’s one of the few cherry trees in Oregon that look like the sakura so common in Japan.
I don’t have a macro lens for my Nikon D7000. The camera with the 18-200mm lens simply won’t focus on anything closer than half a meter (1.6 feet) from the lens. I thought this would be problematic in taking these kinds of macro shots. That has not been a problem though. Instead of going inches from the target and taking the photo at or near 18mm, I just back up and zoom. This photo was taken hand held with a breeze blowing at 150mm. Not a bad macro, close-up shot for a non-macro lens like this…