Shimoda Izu Birthday Trip 2008 with Aya
September 8, 2008
Largely by accident, going to Shimoda, Izu in Shizouka Prefecture, Japan has become an annual summer ritual. It started two summers ago with the Can, which was the best road trip I’ve ever taken in Japan. The tradition continued this summer, and it was my third birthday in a row spent on Tatadohama Beach, but my first ever with Aya. We drove her dad’s car down my favorite strip of road in Japan, Rd. 135 along the coast all the way down to the very tip of the Izu Peninsula where Shimoda dwells, seemingly forgotten by Japan at large, but gladly adopted by me as my summer getaway from the madness of Tokyo.
THE LOST BOYS [1987] review
September 4, 2008
I may have only ever seen THE LOST BOYS once, long ago when it first came out. In my memory it existed as this super cool 80s movie about teen vampires representing in California. And that it was scary. Most of those memories were, in fact, incorrect. Or, the twenty years in-between have changed my perceptions of scary, cool and representing.
Back to cycling the Palace, slowly
September 3, 2008
FULL RIDE STATS:- Distance: 15.78 miles
- Time in motion: 1 hour 1 minute 48 seconds
- Average speed: 15.3 mph
- Max speed: 26.7 mph
- Distance: 9.36 miles
- Time in motion: 31 minutes 14 seconds
- Average speed: 18.0 mph
Brief cycling for Shinjuku night photos
September 2, 2008
RIDE STATS:
- Distance: 2.13 miles
- Time in motion: 13 minutes 39 seconds
- Average speed: 9.4 mph
- Max speed: 17.4 mph
Shizen Kyoiku Park in Meguro
August 31, 2008
It’s been raining all week in Japan, but very luckily there was a 90-minute random sunshine break Saturday afternoon, and that just happened to be the time Aya and I arrived at the small, but cozy and densely forested Shizen Kyoiku Park. The park contains the usual ponds and pogodas that all traditional Japanese gardens have, but is also dotted with several large pieces or artwork and sculptures. Pictured above is the most impressive, a huge, smooth marble square with a hole and seemingly a giant’s nose impression. It was very smooth the the touch. I enjoy running my finger tips over smooth, cool marble, and don’t often have the chance, so this was a nice, unexpected find.
Light Painting: I heart AYA
August 30, 2008
First off, I can’t take credit for coming up with the awesome concept of LIGHT PAINTING on my own. Thanks to this great post on the digital Photography School site, I was immediately inspired to try it. It is a very cool photography technique that basically does what the names says–let you paint with light. It’s also rather simple to do. Here’s how . . .
Daily Photo: Tokyo Bicycle Commuter
August 28, 2008
Wanting to test out the speed of my new Nikkor 18-200 VR lens, I was standing around on a wide sidewalk in Aoyama-itchome when this bicycle commuter rolled by. It was a kind of by accident shot, but I like the way it turned out, especially catching the lower-left foreground bicycles.
I dig his style a lot, from the somewhat formal clothes matched with the bike messenger bag to the best long-hair hairstyle for Japanese men. I guess it’s a kind of 70’s bob look? All on a road bike.
Daily Photo: Beetle all-U-can-eat leaf
August 27, 2008
After a most likely failed job interview, I wondered around Aoyama-itch?me as I’ve never been in that area save for passing by one time on a ride. It has large empty sidewalks and streets that skirt Princess Michiko’s residence (I hear). I stopped in a small park. There were many trees so it was very shady. The ground still had puddles and mud from the previous 4-days of rain. Only after I photographed this beetle eating lunch, did I realize that that park was a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes and that while taking the photo I was bitten at least 11 times!! (4 times on the left buttock alone)
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