Oiran (花魁)
My co-star from earlier in the day sauntering through the streets of Nikko Edo Wonderland…
The shop behind her is selling senbei (せんべい).
TravelJapanBlog.com - Japan (07, 09-10, 13), Denmark (08, 11, 16-19, 21, 24), Korea (13), Poland (21), Mexico (14, 15, 19, 26), Iceland (17, 19), Hawaii (14, 17, 22), Czech Republic (16, 17, 19, 21)
|
The above will search Traveljapanblog.com. Concerts - Landscapes - Sports |
Posts tagged nikko
Bean-throwing festival
Today is Setsubun (節分) in Japan. Even if you aren’t in Japan, if you happen to run into a Japanese person, today is a good day to say “oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi” (out with the devils, in with the luck) to them.
Today’s photo is from the Setsubun bean-throwing festivities at Rinnoji in Nikko. They threw treats and prizes instead of beans. We were handed handfuls of beans as we headed out after though.
There were several famous actors who tossed the prizes. In this photo, for instance, you can see Nakayama Jin (中山 仁) and Otonashi Mikiko (音無 美紀子), whose names are displayed beneath them.
Photoshop depth-of-field effect in Edo Wonderland
Edo Period Japanese female
Depth of field is a wonderful photo effect when you can control it. Unfortunately, without the right camera, lens, and conditions it isn’t always possible to blur the background or at least not as much as you’d like.
When the photo below came up as my random background I thought, “what a great subject ruined by the tourists in the background.” So I did about five minutes of research, spent another two minutes in Photoshop, and came away with my very first Photoshop tweak, above, using a depth of field effect. Although it’s not perfectly executed (another 10 minutes and I could have come away with something much better), I’m happy with how quickly I was able to blur the “tourist problem” in this photo.
Before Photoshop depth-of-field application
Hatsumode (初詣)
Giant torii gate entrance at Toshogu Shrine in Nikko, Japan
The first visit to a shrine after the new year is called hatsumode. The shrines are packed for the first few days of a new year. I haven’t done hatsumode in Nikko, but I’m guessing it is pretty crowded. I have done hatsumode at Meiji Jingu twice and both times it was teeming with people.
Nikko in the snow
Nikko's Rinnoji (輪王寺) in the snow
Few places on the planet are as nice as Nikko on a snowy day. While this photo isn’t yet seasonal, it won’t be too long now.
Train from Nikko to Tokyo in winter
As the sun began to set we rode the train back to Tokyo from Nikko in February. The scenery of snow-covered rice paddies was beautiful. I would have loved to have jumped out of the train for a minute to take proper photos at several places. Instead, I can only offer this small taste of the actual scene from inside a rapidly moving train, complete with reflection off the glass on the left which messes things up a bit.