Yakult Swallows walk-off victory
中村 悠平 with the hit
山田 哲人 scores the game winner

I must admit to having become totally uninterested in the 2013 MLB post season. Once my A’s lost there hasn’t been another team that has compelled me to watch a game. I don’t even know who is winning between the Tigers and Red Sox or Dodgers and Cardinals. Four top-ten payrolls battling it out for bragging rights means nothing to me. Too bad the A’s didn’t get past the Tigers. If the Pirates or Rays had made it another round I could have still cared.

Today’s photo is from a sayonara RBI in the bottom of the 9th inning by the Swallows‘ Nakamura back in August. Yamada scored the game winner. What a fun game it was.

Posted on October 17th, 2013 under Japan. Tags: baseball, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600, sports photography, Tokyo, yakult swallows. Comments Off on Walk off hit (サヨナラ打)

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)

Creating a new ukiyo-e on a storefront in Nihonbashi (Tokyo, Japan)

On an unseasonably cold evening in late November, we came upon this man painting (I think) an original ukiyo-e in the Nihonbashi part of Tokyo. If you want to see the finished result you’ll need to roam the streets of Nihonbashi after (or before) business hours as this can only be seen when the shop is closed.

The location is approximately here.

Posted on August 25th, 2013 under Japan. Tags: geisha, mt. fuji, nihonbashi, Tokyo, ukiyo-e. Comments Off on The making of a modern Ukiyo-e (浮世絵)

Blue Whale outside National Museum of Nature and Science

Posted on June 16th, 2013 under Japan. Tags: museums, Tokyo, ueno, 国立科学博物館. Comments Off on Life-size Blue Whale roaming the streets of Tokyo

Shinobazu Pond (不忍池) Ueno, Tokyo, Japan

Posted on June 5th, 2013 under Japan. Tags: Tokyo, ueno. Comments Off on Ducks (and a swan boat) on the (Shinobazu) pond