Faces of Tokyo Series: Kabukicho in the afternoon
November 20, 2008
Those who know what Kabukicho is might expect to see only scantily clad, sad beauties in this photo gallery, along with effeminately suited hosts who herd in lost, lonely ladies. Yet look through every photo. You will see some of the false beauty of the working ladies of Kabukicho, but you will also see the faces of those that live and die on the streets. The kind of people Mos Def raps about. The kind of person I could still become.
Autumn Scenes from Shinjuku Gyoen
November 16, 2008
This past Saturday was supposed to be my 7th summiting of Takigo-yama, but unfortunate events with the Chuo Line lead to the nixing of that, but on the positive side led to a very good autumn afternoon in Shinjuku Gyoen. It was unbelievably Aya’s first ever time to this famous Tokyo park! I of course have been 20+ times as it’s within walking distance to my apartment.
Autumn Dusk Skies of Shinjuku 2008
November 14, 2008
There is no doubt I pay way too much for my shoebox of an apartment in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. Yet, there are certain benefits to living in the building I do. One of the greatest is the ability to see the sunset each and every day the weather allows for it. Over the course of the year the sun sets over distant mountains in summer, to behind Shinjuku’s skyscrapers in winter and to where it can be seen setting in the above photograph, between the skyscrapers of Nakano-sakaue. Autumn often offers the best sunsets and dusks skies, and even the very rare orange sunset (above).
Halloween in Nikko Japan Fall 2008
November 8, 2008
After five and a half years in Tokyo, Japan, I finally made my first visit to Nikko. I had heard about Nikko many times, as it’s one of the premier tourist destinations in all of Japan, as well as being a World Heritage Site. I heard of monkeys running wild, and even taking baths in outdoor hot springs. I was expecting a huge hub-bub. Of course, like most things, my expectations and reality were nowhere near matching. I found Nikko to be a small, reserved sanctuary of temples and shrines tucked away amongst a forest of tall trees. And no monkeys.
Skimboarding 2008 Session #08 - Farewell Chigasaki, Japan!
November 4, 2008
What you see in the above photo is a mysterious rock out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is the symbol of Chigasaki. I have no idea how it was formed or what it really is. Despite skimboarding this place for the past six summers, I never investigated its meaning. And I do not want to know. I always imagined it as a great shark’s dorsal fin. The rock is very mysterious, for as you walk further from it, the stone actually appears closer to you. Such is the scene of my first ever skimboarding in Japan back in June of 2003, and my final session in October 2008.
The National Art Center Tokyo Inside & Out
October 29, 2008
Pablo Picasso brought Aya and I to THE NATIONAL ART CENTER, TOKYO in Roppongi recently. This is a newly built museum as part of the Tokyo Midtown development. The museum itself is a very impressive architectural work. The building’s face is a sweeping, curved wall of vertically layered glass leading to a UFO-like entranceway. Once through the doors, the first view upon stepping into the lobby is bold and striking and makes one think, “I’m at a very cool place and I’m ready to see some art!”
Down on the farm in Yamanashi Japan
October 24, 2008
After a hard day of hiking up Akadake, Aya and I spent a very beautiful day at a public/university run farm in Yamanashi Prefecture. It was recommended to us by the staff of the mountain hut we stayed at the night before and the farm was far better than we could have imagined. I’ve never been to any place like it in Japan before. Aya immediately said it felt like New Zealand, and I agreed, as this place had rolling green hills surrounded by mountains and sheep in the pasture.
Cosmos in bloom at Showa Kinen Park in Tachikawa, Japan
October 21, 2008
I had been to Showa Kinen Park in Tachikawa, Japan many times before last weekend, but only to play frisbee golf. So when I visited the park this past weekend to photograph cosmos hill, I quickly realized I have been missing out on the best parts of it. Aya and I rented bicycles at the entrance gate as Showa Kinen Park is huge, several kilometers long. This allowed us to visit more areas of the park than we would have had time to just walk to. Our first destination was cosmos hill, which I didn’t think I’d be impressed with at first.
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