Chichibu: Temple Dragon

Saitama is probably the most unfairly maligned of all the prefectures. Not even Shimane, who advertises itself as the least interesting prefecture, gets it this bad. However, if you go north, beyond the areas that are similar to Tokyo but not as cool, you’ll start to see valleys, mountains and houses with pet goats. Chichibu is one of these places. It’s probably most famous for the Iwadatami Rocks, a collection of layered rocks that lie on the banks of the Nagatoro River, and sometimes the middle of it.

Despite all the beautiful shrines and boat rides, the main thing that the local tourist board would like you to know is that it was the setting for “Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Boku-tachi wa Mada Shiranai” (Don’t worry, even Japanese fans abbreviate it to AnoHana). There are posters for this anime series everywhere and even a promotion where you can get a special card stamped at certain locations around town.

Our original plan was to stop at Seibu Chichibu station itself and follow the river to Nagatoro, stopping at the shrines and temples along the way. We soon found out there were too many of them to stop at every single one and make it to Iwadatami in time to take one of the famous boat rides. Sure, we could see them listed on the map, but couldn’t have predicted that they’d all have something unique about them that we’d want to see. We settled for stopping at a few interesting ones, and taking the train the rest of the way. Most locations were a little off the path, with few visitors. It turns out that our route wasn’t particularly close to the river either.

Eventually, we decided to skip a section of temples and head straight for Nagatoro River. This is a fast-flowing river that doesn’t require a boat to have a motor, paddles or sails to travel along it. All that is needed are two crew members with long sticks who know the river well enough to guide the boat around the rocks. The river does the rest.

 

Chichibu: Nagatoro River Chichibu: Crew member on the Nagatoro River Chichibu: Crew member on the Nagatoro River Chichibu: Nagatoro River

 

You don’t need to book in advance for the boat ride (prices and an explanation of the three different routes in Japanese). You don’t even really need to bring a change of clothes. On the standard boat ride, every time you pass a rock that has even the slightest chance of generating a splash, the crew members raise a plastic sheet tucked into the side of the boat to protect you. And to think that I had been debating whether or not to take my camera on the boat at all.

Whitewater rafting is another matter entirely, since the climax of that expedition is being dumped into the river. As we set off on our boat, a group of rafters floated by, buoyed by their lifejackets. They immediately started shouting out to us and saying ‘hello’. It’d been a long time since I was in a place where foreigners were still a novelty. Rare, sure, but never a novelty. Of course, we waved back.

The boats only travel down-stream. You have to get the bus back to Nagatoro Station, which is provided free of charge. We had a quick look around Hodosan Shrine, which has a beautiful white torii gate, then settled down for a snack.

I’d already picked out the place in question. Asami Reizou is famous for its traditional shaved ice, also know as kakigoori. People queue up outside for it, despite having two branches in Chichibu. That’s how good it is. I chose kuromitsu, and my ice arrived piled high in a lacquer cup, with a jug of kuromitsu syrup and a jug of condensed milk. I couldn’t eat it all.

 

Chichibu: Hodosan Shrine Chichibu: Hodosan Shrine Chichibu: Ayu (sweetfish) from a street vendor Chichibu: Kakigoori at Asami Reizou

 

Chichibu is great choice for a day trip outside Tokyo, despite feeling much further away at times. However, many people turn it into a weekend break and spend more time at places such as onsen. Frankly, I don’t necessary recommend you do everything in the order we did.

 

Chichibu: Ema (wooden plaques used for prayers) at a shrine. Chichibu: A rope used to mark the home of a kodama, or tree spirit. Chichibu: Temple Dragon

Chichibu: Shrine Water Chichibu: View from the Harp Bridge. I think this is Mt. Buko. Chichibu: A small house in a field.

Chichibu: Chichibu: Jizo stone statues. Chichibu: Jizo stone statue. Chichibu: A shrine tagged with senjafuda, which bear the name of visitor.

Chichibu: Statues Chichibu: Temple, which I believe is Houousan'iwa no Ue Dou. Chichibu: The area is known for its tourism and cement.

Brazilian Day in Yoyogi Park: Gres Alegria Samba

Brazilian Day Japan (September 3rd, 4th 2011) has both a main stage with capoeira and samba dancers, while food stalls feature a mix of Brazilian-style barbecue, pastels and cocktails. There are also a few non-food stalls advertising Brazilian-run businesses and those with a more tenuous connection.

I sampled food from a variety of different vendors, although it was mostly too bland and greasy for my taste. It’s unfair to judge the cuisine of an entire nation based on a few fast food stands on the other side of the world in Japan, but I will say I preferred the food at the Thai and Indian festivals held in the same location.

Of all the food I tried, kibbeh was the best and reminded me of koftas, with its spicy, nutty texture. On the other end of the scale, a delicious-looking sausage had big chunks of juicy fat hidden inside. It was vile.

My friend who’d invited us in the first place is actually Brazilian, and told us the food was pretty authentic. As a vegetarian though, he dodged the worst of it.

The capoeira display on the main stage was impressive, but a little difficult to see as this martial art often uses the ground as a base to make attacks. There are also the famous handsprings and acrobatics, but the photos don’t turn out so well when half the performer’s body is hidden behind someone’s head. Luckily, the group later formed a capoeira circle (or Roda) just outside of the festival grounds, which was much easier to watch.

Soon after, a samba school called Gres Alegria performed in feathers, sequins and costume jewellery against a backdrop of bubbles. There are plenty of photos of their colourful costumes below… but only one of the food!

 

Click on any of the photographs below to see them at a larger size. The majority of them are available at 1024×768 size, perfect for desktop wallpaper.

 

Brazilian Day in Yoyogi Park: Barbecue Food Stall Brazilian Day in Yoyogi Park: Banco do Brasil Japan

Brazilian Day in Yoyogi Park: Capoeira Roda Brazilian Day in Yoyogi Park: Gres Alegria Samba

 

All photos below are 1024×768 size.

 

Brazilian Day in Yoyogi Park: Gres Alegria Samba Brazilian Day in Yoyogi Park: Gres Alegria Samba Brazilian Day in Yoyogi Park: Gres Alegria Samba

Brazilian Day in Yoyogi Park: Gres Alegria Samba Brazilian Day in Yoyogi Park: Gres Alegria Samba Brazilian Day in Yoyogi Park: Gres Alegria Samba

Brazilian Day in Yoyogi Park: Gres Alegria Samba Brazilian Day in Yoyogi Park: Gres Alegria Samba Brazilian Day in Yoyogi Park: Gres Alegria Samba

Brazilian Day in Yoyogi Park: Gres Alegria Samba Brazilian Day in Yoyogi Park: Gres Alegria Samba Brazilian Day in Yoyogi Park: Gres Alegria Samba

Brazilian Day in Yoyogi Park: Gres Alegria Samba Brazilian Day in Yoyogi Park: Gres Alegria Samba Brazilian Day in Yoyogi Park: Gres Alegria Samba

 

Awa Odori in Nishi-Hachiouji.

The notice on the website said the festival was on, but Typhoon Talas was passing over Shikoku and leaving even Tokyo drenched. The question was whether heavy rain would stop the last chance to see Awa Odori this summer at a festival known as “Odore, NishiHachi Natsu Matsuri” (Summer Festival in Nishi-Hachiouji).

Awa Odori is a Japanese dance originally from Tokushima in, yes, Shikoku. Its most distinctive feature, aside from the movements and the way the female dancers stand on the ‘tips’ of their wooden sandals, is the straw hats. Shaped like a half-moon and covering half the face, they are called amigasa.

As you can see by the photos, the matsuri took place more-or-less as planned. If you look closer (click on the landscape-oriented photos to view at 1024×768 resolution), you can see the dancers’ hair is slick and some of the yukata is becoming see-through around the sleeves. Yes, they really did dance through a typhoon! The only concessions to the weather was wrapping fans and paper lanterns in clear plastic and a shortening of the performance time.

It’s worth mentioning that there were about four or five children performing, some of whom hadn’t even reached elementary school age. Due to their age, I won’t upload them to the wilds of the internet, but the crowd adored them.

 

Click to see the photographs at a larger size. Landscape-oriented photographs are at the correct proportions for desktop wallpaper.

 

Awa Odori in Nishi-Hachiouji. Awa Odori in Nishi-Hachiouji. Awa Odori in Nishi-Hachiouji.

Awa Odori in Nishi-Hachiouji. Awa Odori in Nishi-Hachiouji. Awa Odori in Nishi-Hachiouji.

Awa Odori in Nishi-Hachiouji. Awa Odori in Nishi-Hachiouji. Awa Odori in Nishi-Hachiouji.

Awa Odori in Nishi-Hachiouji. Awa Odori in Nishi-Hachiouji. Awa Odori in Nishi-Hachiouji.

Awa Odori in Nishi-Hachiouji. Awa Odori in Nishi-Hachiouji. Awa Odori in Nishi-Hachiouji.

Awa Odori in Nishi-Hachiouji. Awa Odori in Nishi-Hachiouji.

Summer is almost over, or so we hope, which means that so are events connected to Obon, the Japanese festival of the dead. The term ‘Obon’ covers private ceremonies in the home and community activities such as Lantern Boats and Bon Odori.

Bon Odori (or its English translation, Bon Dance) was held recently in my area. This year, the event was so crowded that I didn’t get a chance to dance. Nevertheless, the feeling of being surrounded by so many beautiful lanterns at night (and having shaved ice or a beer from one of the stalls!) is an amazing feeling.

 

Please click on any of the photographs to see them at 1024×768 resolution.

 

Bon Dance: Lanterns at Bon Odori

Bon Dance: Lanterns at Bon Odori

Bon Dance: Lanterns at Bon Odori

 

I was in Odaiba recently for the International Tokyo Toy Show. The sky was overcast and grey, making it the perfect weather for photographing the brightly-coloured boats. The light reflects oddly at this time, enhancing greens and, at twilight, naturally bringing out the now-ubiquitous teal and orange. Since it was June, you also get the iconic ‘raindrops dripping off hydrangeas’ photo.

 

All photographs are available at a larger size if you click on them. All landscape-oriented photographs are wallpaper-sized for your PC.

 

Odaiba: Pallet Town Ferris Wheel (Wallpaper) Odaiba: Mini Statue of Liberty (Wallpaper)

Odaiba: Restaurant Boats (Wallpaper) Odaiba: Restaurant Boat (Wallpaper)

Odaiba: Hydrangeas in June (Wallpaper) Odaiba: Dockside cranes (Wallpaper)

Odaiba: Dockside cranes (Wallpaper) Odaiba: Restaurant Boat (Wallpaper)

Odaiba: Restaurant Boats (Wallpaper)

Odaiba: Restaurant Boat (Wallpaper) Odaiba: Kaiwo Maru (Wallpaper)

 

International Tokyo Toy Show: A kigurumi cosplayer

The International Tokyo Toy Show (Also known as “Tokyo Omocha Show”) is the one of the first major ‘fun’ event to be held in Big Sight since the earthquake. Okay, there were trade fairs devoted to sales incentives and a few doujinshi markets, but nothing with sponsors. They weren’t even sure if it would go ahead considering both the Tokyo International Anime Fair and its new rival, Anime Contents Expo, were cancelled. Although numbers for both attendees and booths owners seemed like it was down, I’m glad they went through with it.

I must admit, fewer things caught my eye this year. However, the people behind Doubutsu Shougi (“Animal Shogi” or “Catch The Lion!”) were there again to give demonstrations. If you like board games or puzzles, I totally recommend this one. It has a few basic shougi pieces, represented by simple illustrations of animals and a reduced playing area. The pieces have the potential moves (mimicking actual shogi moves, obviously) included in the illustrations too.

This year they had a treat for us — a full shogi set with the same basic concept! That is, the legal moves for each piece are clearly marked and all pieces are adorable animals. These are a perfect gift for anyone, even adults (especially adults!).

Amongst other toys that caught my eye was Yummy Dough. According to the flyer, they started making it when a little German girl asked “Why can’t you eat clay?” Instead of replying “Because we said so,” they made edible play dough and set up children for a lifetime of bad decision-making. It looked like a pretty good idea, but I didn’t try any of their many samples, simply for all the children already pawing through them. There’s a photo of the booth below though.

Amongst other things I photographed was 4D Cityscape Time Puzzle from Yanoman. The concept isn’t new, but now Tokyo has been added to the list of 3D cities you can make. There were also plenty of sentai and tokusatsu rangers on display at the Bandai booth. Like Takara Tomy, their booth took up about a quarter of an entire hall. This time they were promoting Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger (AKA Pirate Squadron Gokaiger), which is a mash-up of a Super Sentai show and pirates. Probably my favourite photographs were of Lego’s new magic-ninja-and-dragons model line, called Ninjago.

I was very pleased by what I found in the Takara Tomy booth. I’m a big fan of ‘we made it so-so-so cute that it stopped being cute and became creepy’ — I love soulless eyes, kigurumi cosplayers and life-sized dolls with visible balljoints that they didn’t have to include but did anyway. Good work guys, and I won’t be able to sleep for some time.

Here’s a list of Japanese Toy Awards 2011 grand prize winners. There are a few changes from the previous year (See a list in English here), although Bandai are still making sentai transformation belts and Anpanman keeps educating kids. This year, Takara Tomy took more wins all round and their winning entry for the Innovation Award, Ningen Gakki, looks particularly intriguing.

 

List of award winners 2011. Scroll on for the photos!

 

Category Name Company Sale Date Price in Yen
Access For All Children “Kyouyuu” Award Tomica Yubi-Con Series Takara Tomy June 2011 5,229
Educational Award Anpanman Touch de “AIUEO” o-kyoushitsu Kids Tablet [Link to .PDF] Agatsuma August 2011 7,329
Boys’ Toy Award Henshin Belt (Kamen Rider) DX OOO Driver O Medal Series Bandai September 2010 6,825
Girls’ Toy Award Licca-chan 31 Icecream Shop Takara Tomy in association with Baskin Robbins April 2011 4,725
Character Toy Award ONE PIECE LOGBOX Megahouse September 2010 630
Innovative Toy Award Ningen Gakki Takara Tomy June 2011 3,360
High Target Award nanoblock Tokyo Skytree and LED Plate Kawada in association with Tokyo Skytree September 2011 2625 (+1050)

 

International Tokyo Toy Show: Lego Ninjago International Tokyo Toy Show: Lego Ninjago

International Tokyo Toy Show: Yummy Dough International Tokyo Toy Show: 4D Cityscape Time Puzzle

International Tokyo Toy Show: Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger Black International Tokyo Toy Show: Super Sentai History International Tokyo Toy Show: Ultraman

International Tokyo Toy Show: Suite Pretty Cure (Suite PreCure) International Tokyo Toy Show: Gundam

International Tokyo Toy Show: Transformers International Tokyo Toy Show: Takara Tomy Booth

International Tokyo Toy Show: Takara Tomy Booth International Tokyo Toy Show: Big Sight

 

Show Me Japan Photo Meme.

 
I hope you enjoyed my report and photographs from the International Tokyo Toy Show 2011. If you like anime, you might enjoy my cosplay photographs from Winter Comiket 2010. If you want more photographs from other big events like this toy fair, maybe you’ll prefer my report from last year’s Tokyo Game Show. Alternatively, click on the banner to your left to see photographs from other bloggers in Japan. You can also share this on Facebook or Twitter (amongst many other sites!) if you click the button to your left below.
 
 
 
 

Showa Kinen Park: Cosmos Hill at Sunset

Dragonflies hover over water lilies and irises by a lake at Showa Kinen Park in Tokyo. As the day progresses, the shadows get longer and the light more golden, allowing for some great photographs of flowers just before sundown.

The flowers were photographed at Cosmos Hill, when the sun was low in the sky, but not setting just yet. Depending on the angle of the camera and where I positioned the sun within the frame, I could make it look like normal daylight or eerie – as in the photographs.

The flowers in question are Nymphaea water lilies, bletilla (shiran) and foxgloves. You can also read my post featuring wallpaper-sized photographs of dragonflies and other insects.

 

First, the wallpapers. Hover your mouse over any photograph to find out further details. To see the photograph more clearly or to take it for your desktop, please click on it.

 

Flower Wallpaper: Water lilies Flower Wallpaper: Water lilies

Flower Wallpaper: Bletilla (Shiran) Flower Wallpaper: Water lily

 

Here are some more photos of Cosmos Hill and the park lake.

 

Showa Kinen Park: Cosmos Hill at Sunset Showa Kinen Park: Cosmos Hill at Sunset Showa Kinen Park: Cosmos Hill at Sunset

Showa Kinen Park: Cosmos Hill at Sunset Showa Kinen Park: Foxglove Showa Kinen Park: The Lake

Showa Kinen Park: Water lilies Showa Kinen Park: By The Lake

 

Show Me Japan Photo Meme.

 
 
I hope you enjoyed my photos of flowers. If you want to see more nature photography from the same area, you might also like my macro photography of dragonflies and other insects. If you want more traditional buildings with your nature photography though, maybe you’ll prefer my photographs from Kita-Kamakura. Alternatively, click on the banner to your left to see photographs from other bloggers in Japan. You can also share this on Facebook or Twitter (amongst many other sites!) if you click the button to your left below.
 
 

Summer is just about here, and that means watching dragonflies bob along in the tall grass while children run around with nets trying to catch them and other insects. Okay, some people run screaming and if that describes you, you should probably skip this post.

I love photographing insects at the macro level. A dragonfly’s wings are a beautiful, seemingly-random criss-cross design and — if you look closely — almost seem to be mechanical.

These macro photographs were all taken in Tachikawa, west Tokyo at Showa Kinen Park. You can also read about my first trip in summer and another trip in late winter, early spring. I intended these photos to be used as desktop wallpaper, hence the off-centred cropping (which I prefer anyway). Even if you never use them, I hope you will click on them to have a better look at the details.

 

Showa Kinen Park, Japan: Insect and Flower Macro Photography Showa Kinen Park, Japan: Insect and Flower Macro Photography

Showa Kinen Park, Japan: Insect and Flower Macro Photography Showa Kinen Park, Japan: Insect and Flower Macro Photography

Showa Kinen Park, Japan: Insect and Flower Macro Photography Showa Kinen Park, Japan: Insect and Flower Macro Photography

 

Show Me Japan Photo Meme.

 
 
 
I hope you enjoyed my photos of insects on flowers. If you want to see more nature photography, you might also like my photos of cherry blossom. If you want a more modern take though, maybe you’ll prefer my photographs from Kabukicho. Alternatively, click on the banner to your left to see photographs from other bloggers in Japan.
 
 

It’s late April and bloggers showing off their photographs of cherry blossom are as inevitable as the blossoms themselves. For my part, I tried to do something a little bit different this year, by including interesting foregrounds and backgrounds, or just by adding people.

Up until recently, I would wait until just the right moment for the foot traffic to stop before I took a picture. I even have a full length picture somewhere of the Kamakura Daibutsu with no people in view. Have a look at my sakura photographs from last year where I specifically talk about waiting for that special (and rare) moment when no one is there.

This year, it was suggested (by Ishihara Shintarou) that we shouldn’t take part in hanami parties out of respect for the victims of the tsunami, even when said victims turned up and said, “Hey, we need you to have hanami parties so our area can recover financially!” Thankfully, the people of Tokyo listened to Tohoku rather than the politicians, and I wanted to show that. So, this year, instead of waiting for all the plastic swans to return to the boatyard, I took a picture more representative of what Inokashira Park is like during cherry blossom season.

Click through to see my photographs of sakura in Shibuya, in Inokashira Park and around its lake, near Tokyo Imperial Palace, and from Tama Graveyard. The photographs are fairly large this time, so they may take a while to load.

 
 

Click for photographs from parks and graveyards across Tokyo after the jump!

Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum: Plum blossom.

In Tokyo, it snowed for the first time on Foundation Day, a national holiday in Japan. We’d only just had Setsubun on February 3rd, which officially marked the start of spring. After holding back on us in Tokyo all winter, leaving the rest of the world and other parts of Japan buried under snow, it finally came through. Exactly the same as last year.

On seeing the snow, I immediately wanted to take my camera out in it, preferably with some traditional buildings. But where?

I chose to run all the way to the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum to photograph historical Japanese buildings in the snow. There were also plum trees (梅/ume) in bloom in the surrounding area. Enjoy the photos — there are a lot this time.

 

 

 

Click on the photographs below to see a bigger version. Hover your cursor for a description. Thanks for reading.

 

 

 

Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum: Showa era cans of tuna. Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum: Showa era cash register. Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum: Showa era stationery.

Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum: Showa era bar. Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum.

Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum: Showa era grocery store. Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum: Showa era flower shop.

Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum: Showa era flower shop. Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum: Showa era umbrella maker. Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum: Showa era household equipment shop.

Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum. Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum: Snow resting on pine needles. Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum: Showa era flower shop.

Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum: Torii arch in the snow. Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum: A Japanese garden in the snow. Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum: A Japanese garden in the snow. Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum: A Japanese garden in the snow.

Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum: A pine tree in the snow. Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum: A Japanese garden in the snow. Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum: A traditional Japanese house.

Koganei Park: Plum blossom in the snow. Koganei Park: Plum blossom in the snow. Koganei Park: Plum blossom in the snow.