Hope and art

I took a photo of this "Nozomi" (hope) Shinkansen before we boarded the train at Okayama, headed for Tokyo.

I remember being disappointed many years ago (on an older series train) that it didn't feel that fast. With many more train journeys under my belt, I can definitely say that they're fast, smooth and reliable.

Over the years they've also come to look more futuristic.

Here's another photo I took which I processed beyond the realms of what you might call normal photography...but I like the end result.

Tomorrow is our final day in Tokyo and Japan (boo) but I've had a great time and I'm looking forward to using proper wardrobes again.

Poison pumpkin

This time yesterday we were on a boat from Takamatsu to Naoshima. I complained of harsh sun and high contrast in yesterday's post but this was replaced by clouds and frequent, heavy showers.

So our plans were cut short somewhat and we only managed to see the Ando museum and some of the Art houses. The buses were too infrequent (and when they arrived they were full) to be too useful and we were worried about being stranded and missing the 17.00 last ferry. We could have taken the fast boat at 19.25 but after the soaking and being denied boarding of the bus we had lost our appetite to see more on this occasion.

Here is a shot of a Yayoi Kusama pumpkin at the Naoshima port:

Fighting the flow

Some days I can find myself at the most beautiful of places yet find little inspiration. Yesterday was one of those days. I was in Ritsurin Garden which is supposedly amongst the three prettiest parks of its type in Japan. It was a sunny day with high contrast.

I have a few potentially "ok" photos on my dSLR but nothing too memorable.

The other realisation I made (or perhaps remembered) is that the D700 (with 24-70) is simply too big, heavy and inflexible to be much fun to use. Shots where I'd either have to get down low (where I could really do with a flip screen), take a long time to get right (if at all), result in more time setting up photos than enjoying the moment...which is why I'm here in the first place!

This one might have been more interesting but was a bit rushed:

Reflecting on old times

Glico (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ezaki_Glico) was a part of my childhood and a small bridge to my parents' homeland. They are famous for caramel candies, although my attention was frequently drawn by their brutal and effective sales tactics involving the addition of a toy box on top of the candies.

But then who wouldn't be? http://www.destoutz.ch/acc_misc_glico_black.html

Mostly three

Today was our last full day in Osaka. We've been very lucky to be guests of my father's good friend who treated us to dinner again.

During the day we explored Osaka Castle as well as the "Tsutenkaku" and Shinsekai (new world) which is downtown Osaka.

Most of the limited (due to time constraints) photos of the castle are on the D700.

Here I took a few photos of some art structures near our hotel. A German Christmas market was being set up so I couldn't get any closer due to the focal length of the iPhone but I also couldn't walk backwards as it would have included the tools and equipment being used to assemble the Weihnachts-Hütten.

Three shapes, three colours:

After the castle, we visited the Tsutenkaku. At this point it was already late afternoon and we were low on energy so I only used the iPhone. Similar to the castle, the Tsutenkaku (tower reaching heaven) was ravaged by a fire in 1943 then rebuilt in 1956. It serves no real, current purpose other than being part of Osaka's history and a hit with tourists (sponsored by Hitachi).

Finally, we met with our host again this evening who treated us to an amazing, traditional dinner and Sake!

Just to add that it was my first time eating "fugu" (porcupine fish, globefish, puffer fish).

Three different bottles of Sake:

The land of Godzilla (gojira)

Today was our first full day at Amanohashidate. Also called "the Bridge to Heaven", the locals say that it's one of the three most beautiful spots in Japan.

Our first destination "Kasa Matsu Kouen" (umbrella pine park) was right by our accommodation. The weather started off promisingly but by late morning it started to rain. Visibility from the top (reached by cable car or chair lift) was already a bit poor.

This was taken on our way down:

We then took the boat from the north (Miyazu) back to Amanohashidate by boat to walk across the sandbar in the afternoon.

The town itself is quite touristy (mainly local tourists) but still pretty.

The rain never really abated but we walked across anyway, enjoying the scenery and various wildlife.

I think this is some sort of Orb spider. I saw the Golden Orb Spider in Florida which looked similar and spun equally impressive (and large) webs a few years ago. Large specimens I've seen are around 12cm in length:

Also a well camouflaged but approachable skink:

Finally a little frog which we only spotted due to a movement in the bushes:

Fushimi Inari Taisha

I mostly used my D700 again but remembered to take a few pictures with my phone.

This was taken at the Fushimi Inari Taisha, in Kyoto.

The Torii are exciting at first but soon become almost endless.

We didn't do the entire walk, though given more time it could be interesting. The tourists also seem to thin out as you get further into the paths.

What was more interesting (for me) was a preying mantis I found on this tree. Only the third one I've ever seen and the first one I've photographed!