居酒屋おたやん甲府中央酒場

Tucked down one of Kofu‘s many alleyways (Nishiki Dori was the name of the street) this place looked like a lot of fun. The food was good, but the patrons and employees weren’t nearly as entertaining as the place I had just come from (Ajimi or 味魅).

Ajimi was a random find. The just as random salaryman (サラリーマン) who sat down next to me came up with the name of my boss (Shibuya San) from 20+ years ago in San Francisco when I couldn’t think of it. Weird. It’s a small world.

Posted on October 13th, 2013 under Japan. Tags: food, kofu, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600. Comments Off on Yakiniku (焼き肉)

Smartly-dressed Japanese gentleman at bon odori

I loved the hat on the dancing man in the middle of today’s photo. I took this picture at the Nishikubo Hachiman Jinja Summer Festival (西久保八幡神社例大祭[夏祭り2013]) in Tokyo this past August.

Posted on October 11th, 2013 under Japan. Tags: bon odori, festivals, lanterns, matsuri, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600, Tokyo, 西久保八幡神社例大祭 夏祭り2013. Comments Off on Oshare (おしゃれ)

Inuyama Castle

There’s a mansion on the hill
Psychedelic music fills the air
Peace and love live there still
In that mansion on the hill. — Neil Young

For some reason, that Neil Young tune came into my head while I processed this image of, not a mansion per se but, Inuyama Castle (犬山城) in Aichi Prefecture (愛知県).

Posted on October 7th, 2013 under Japan. Tags: castle, inuyama, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600. Comments Off on Mansion On The Hill

Arashiyama (嵐山) just after sunset panorama

Arashiyama is one of the most magical places in the world, and dusk is a magical time of day. I didn’t have my tripod with me on this evening in Kyoto as I had been biking around all day and still had a couple hours of biking ahead of me. So I set my camera on the edge of the famous Togetsu Bridge to take this 2 second exposure at ISO 100 and f/11.

Posted on October 3rd, 2013 under Japan. Tags: arashiyama, dusk, kyoto, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600. Comments Off on Arashiyama dusk

Stand and eat noodles at Shin-Imamiya Station (新今宮駅)

The morning I headed out for Koyasan from Osaka I figured I would just find some breakfast along the way. By the time I arrived at the Shinimamiya Station for the train transfer I was starving so I purchased some gyoza and ate them on the platform. They were delicious. On my way back from Koyasan I found out the same station also had the above eating possibility.

This type of eating is known as tachigui (立ち食い) (literally, standing eating), and you can do it in Japan at numerous places including the Nankai Soba (南海そば) pictured here.

Posted on October 1st, 2013 under Japan. Tags: food, koyasan 高野山, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600, osaka, signs, soba, udon. Comments Off on Eating in a Japanese train station