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)
Daily Photo feature debut - Shinjuku Skycrapers
August 27, 2008
This is the start of a new feature on Jacked-in called DAILY PHOTO. I will include only one photo, and a link to a large version of that photo, along with its EXIF data and a brief description, unless the photo has a more substantial story behind it.
Futako-Tamagawa Fireworks Hanabi 2008
August 18, 2008
I attended my second fireworks display, hanabi, of the summer this past Saturday along the banks of the Tama River near Futako-Tamagawa station. If you can believe it, I am still so naive that even after 5+ years of living in Japan, I wasn’t expecting to have to fight through huge crowds! Of course Futako-Tamagawa station was jammed with people exiting trains to head to the river for the fireworks. However, once out of the fray, there was plenty of space even for late arrivers to find a nice spot upon which to gaze upwards for the hour-long fireworks display.
Gunma Japan Haikyo Urban Exploring!
August 1, 2008
I went on my first ever haikyo, or urban exploring as it’s called outside of Japan, with the Mikes in January 2008. We rented a Nissan X-trail, which was a pleasure to drive by the way, and headed up deep into Gunma Prefecture, Japan. Snow was everywhere and we were all very excited to be out of Tokyo and on our first adventure in a long time. We went out seeking an abandoned theme park, volcano museum and schoolhouse. We found them all, with varying degrees of difficulty. [Read more]
Skimboarding 2008 - Session #04 - Hiratsuka
July 31, 2008
When Aya and I first arrived at Hiratsuka Beach stoked for our 4th skimboarding session of the year, we were immediately met with a crowd of “beach football” players who were having a huge tournament. I had never even heard of the sport before. We saw a lot of skimboarders walking away from the beach, though, up on the main sidewalk. I thought there might also be a skimboarding tournament, but I guess since we were arriving at the beach itself just after 12:30pm, that’s the end of the morning session for most Japanese skimmers.
Yokohama Fireworks Hanabi 2008!
July 22, 2008
Hanabi is a Japanese word that means fireworks display viewing. Donning a yukata for the first time, I went to Yamashita Park in Yokohama, Japan with Aya for some mid-summer hanabi action. Back on Friday, Aya helped me go yukata shopping, selecting a nice navy blue one. She donned a deep purple yukata hand-sewn by her mother for her. It is traditional to wear yukata to hanabi and other Japanese summer festivals. How does it feel to wear a yukata? A little restricting and a bit hot, but it felt good to have my attire contribute to the overall festive atmosphere.
Getting a choice spot for hanabi would have required arriving at iPhone waiting type times, so all things considered, we thought we had found ourselves a pretty good spot to spread the Big Agnes Seedhouse footprint. Then we realized a large tree would be obstructing a good part, if not all, of our view. It turned out to be only a partial obstruction, with low fireworks totally visible.
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