Harley Shop in Hachinohe
In Japan, of course most American things are a rare commodity, just as it is vice-versa in the U.S.A. in regards to Japanese goods. The crazy thing is the insane markup here in Japan. An old pair of chucks that are used can fetch as much as 40-60 dollars! While selling your own old pair of chucks to the recycle shop will only get you 2-4 dollars… Anyhow, my cousin has got a Harley, and needless to say he’s asked me to get a few souvenir shirts with Japanese writing for him. Of course the shirts cost something around 45 a piece. A small leather key chain cost about 25 dollars. The bikes were even more insanely priced. I’m not sure of the going rate of a Harley in the U.S., but these were selling from 16k to 35k! I was shocked. But then again, I’m not a Harley enthusiast, so I guess I don’t understand the interest as much as a die-hard Harley fan would. Anyhow, this is just a small gallery, so enjoy the pictures and stay tuned for more updates!
Kamikita Preschool
During the Christmas season, here in Misawa the local elementary schools have performances. I was asked by one of my co-workers, at the school I teach at part-time, if I had a friend who would be willing to play Santa Claus. Well, I found a co-worker who was willing and off we went. Two consecutive weekends, I went to two different schools. When we get there, we walk in and there are rows and rows of parents seated on the auditorium floor in front of the stage. It’s crowded and there are lines of tripods with a wide array of electronic recording devices mounted on them, all aimed at the stage. It’s amazing to see how many parents were here to see their children perform. It didn’t matter whether their child just stood there and didn’t do anything remotely close to what they were supposed to or if they were the star of the performance, they just wanted to see their child being apart of something. It was a beautiful sight. There were several displays of music, dance, and a variety of stories, almost all of which I was unfamiliar with. Most of the stories were Japanese folklore and since my Japanese is not that fluent, I wasn’t able to understand everything.
After everything, all the younger classes are brought to the stage for the coming of Santa. At the first school, Santa just walked in from the side of the audience. At the second school, they had all the children ready on the stage, but behind the curtain. In front of the curtain, they had a large box that was wrapped like a present. Of course, my friend was hiding inside the box. They opened the curtain and began by having the children call for “Santa-san!” Once the chants were over, they opened the box and Santa appeared. Of the few children that began pouring out tears, I couldn’t tell whether they were afraid of Santa himself or the 6’4″ human being towering above their little world.
The principals gave me the privilege of being able to take photos backstage or up right in front of the stage. I managed to get some good photos and of course a select few will be added to my portfolio. Everything will still be displayed here though for your viewing pleasure. I was using my 5D paired with a beautiful 85mm 1.2L. What a great lens, it is nothing but GLASS from front to back, and boy does it take some great photos. There are going to be quite a few pictures from this series of photos, so this post is probably going to be quite long. The photos will be posted in separate galleries though on the Gallery page. Anyhow, Enjoy!
Hakodate
About 2-3 weeks ago, I went on a tour to Hakodate city. On the way there, we pass through the worlds longest underwater tunnel. It is called the Seikan Tunnel. Usually on the trip, you can get to the front car and take pictures of the tunnel entrance as you approach it, but the front car was packed, so I didn’t get a chance to take any pictures of it.
Anyhow, once we arrived in Hakodate, we began driving around the city and hitting up some of the famous spots. One of them is a very old building that is home to probably the first photo studio in Japan. As you browse through the pictures, you will notice from the interior design, western influence had already begun to take effect in northern Japan. They offer to dress you up in clothes from the time period, and they photograph you for Y1000 or so. I decided not to go for it, however, luckily a couple was there who did and I was able to grab a shot of them in the main hall of the building. Despite the many advancements in technology, you will probably be surprised to see how primitive the bathrooms remained. Of course there were newer bathrooms placed in the building for the tourists and the older ones were only open for exhibition. The “King’s” bathroom was pretty nice. Everything was made of wood, but the interesting thing was that he had a standing stall and a “benjo” which is the name for the Japanese floor style toilets. Oddly enough, that was made of wood as well, so I’m rather curious as to how long they lasted and just how clean they could really get them.
Another interesting place was “Goryou Kaku,” which is the star shaped “fortress” so to speak. What is now surrounded by a moat, was once land locked. They re-routed water inland to create the moat. I went up in the tower to get some bird’s eye shots, and I managed to put together a panorama. Unfortunately the main buildings were being renovated, perhaps prepping them for the coming winter, who knows, so I didn’t bother to walk to the center. At this point in history, I believe this is when the westernized imperial Japan began to push the samurai/shogun up north towards Hokkaido. If I’m not mistaken, the movie “The Last Samurai,” although a fictional account based on non-fiction, is set in this time period, and this is around the location where it took place. I took pictures of the diorama’s as well, using my newly acquired 85mm 1.2L (what a beauty!).
We did some more sightseeing of course, but the real reason for the trip was the view that the gondola ride to the top of the mountain, promised. While it is only ~350m high, it was tall enough that it overlooked the entire city of Hakodate. Earlier in the day the weather was not so good and the cloud cover was heavy. Initially we thought it would be a waste to go up to the top of the mountain because we wouldn’t even be able to see the city. Luckily for us, the weather cleared up later into the evening. I brought my 17-40mm and my tripod. I took as many shots as I could while I was up there and managed to “stitch” them together to get a nice panorama. The size was ridiculous, so I had to make it smaller, but I will upload a larger version in the near future.
In any case, enjoy the photos and feel free to leave comments.
On this trip I brought my gripped 50D, 17-40mm f/4L, 85mm f/1.2L and my bogen/manfrotto tripod. If you have any questions about my setup, feel free to ask away! Enjoy!
Chuo Park
I have a part time job as a substitute english teacher. Maybe 3 weeks ago, I met up with a friend at the park and I brought my camera. Canon 50D w/ 17-40mm f/4L. She is one of the people I tutor. I got quite a few good shots of my friends’ son. Nothing really special about this post, just posting up some pictures.
Furusato Kawa
After going to Motorland Speedway, my friend Nao and I drove around and we found this river called Furusato Kawa. It was beautiful, only I had made the mistake of only bringing one lens with me. All the shots were done with my 70-200mm f/4 L lens. There is one long panoramic bridge shot that I uploaded. How did I get a panoramic out of a zoom lens you ask? well of course, photoshop/lightroom played a role in that feat. I had to plan out two shots so that I could stitch together what would look like a panoramic. The 70-200 performed quite well in my opinion and I like how the photos turned out. I was considering selling it, but after this day, I think I am going to hold on to it for a little longer.
Motorland Speedway
There is one track nearby called “Motorland Speedway.” It’s not very long, but it is still noteworthy. They have go-karting, RC racing/drifting tournaments, individual drifting, grip driving and of course they have D1 events on occasion. The karting was fun, but difficult to try and drift them. The kart course is about 1km, I don’t know how long the car course is though. If I had a better car, I’d most definitely at least take my car out there once. It’s a shame we’re not allowed to own more than one vehicle because we’re single. All shots were done with my 70-200mm F/4 L. This is an absolutely wonderful lens. Why I wanted to sell it is beyond me. This was one of the first shoots that I decided to limit the gear I brought in order to focus more on taking photos rather than my gear. I also took only a few shots as opposed to 432789032748 shots that I usually take, in an effort to shoot better shots more often as opposed to being trigger happy and hoping for a good one. Enjoy the photos of the RC cars, karts, and of course the automobiles. By all means, leave comments.
Horsepull Shichinohe
Maybe about 2 weeks ago, I went out with a friend who likes photography. He took me out to this place in Shichinohe. I don’t know if it’s actually called a Horsepull or not, but that’s basically what the horses were doing. Actually, I don’t think horse is the right term. These are the same type of horse used to pull carriages. I think they’re called grand something. I can’t remember. Anyways, what they do is line up three of the horses, each with a sled behind them. The sled has a spot for metal plates to be placed on them. Then the horse will race down to the finish line with the sled in tow. There are two obstacles in it’s path, however, a nice small hill and then a large hill that normally has the horse gasping for breath by the time it gets there. At this point, it seems kind of sad, because a trainer (more like a slave driver it seems) is whipping the horse to get it to go. Those of you with an affinity for horses might not enjoy all the photos as much. However, that said, at least I didn’t take video. Now that I think of it, maybe I should’ve taken some video. Anyhow, to the rest of you, please enjoy the photos.
Washington Billiards
As almost everyone that knows me knows, I love to play pool. Finding a good pool hall in Japan is not an easy feat, especially since the bases aren’t always located near cities. I get lucky once in a while and there is a good place tucked away in a corner every now and then. This particular place has good people and good players. Keep in mind that in Japan, large businesses are not as common as they are in the states. For example, this pool hall only has 4 tables, but it definitely suits it as there aren’t too many pool players in the area. This night, I brought my 28mm f/1.8 that I recently bought from my friend. I know there aren’t that many, but I hope you enjoy the photos anyway. It’s always amazing what cropping can do for a photo.
Two year anniversary
I took my friends to a restaurant called Ufuya. It was their two year anniversary. May 10th I believe. Anyhow, they have great soba, and the Shabu-Shabu is off the chain. check out the last photo and look at how much food we ate.
Misawa Tour
So when you first arrive to Misawa, you are required to go on a tour. Here are a few pictures from when I went. these photos were taken with my old Sony w300. It was a good camera, but i gave it to my parents.
Climbing a mountain
ok, so i didn’t really have to “climb” it perse, but the trail was not very easy at all. well not to an out of shape fat bastard like me. lol. here is a video from when we reached the top. i was breathing kinda heavy on the mic, so excuse the gasps for air. the view was phenomenal, even though i am deathly afraid of heights. anyhow, after the video, there are photos to follow. enjoy!
Hedo Point
So here are a few pictures from Hedo point over in okinawa. it’s at the northern most tip of the island. Sometimes this place is referred to as the “suicide cliffs” for obvious reasons. Anyhow, enjoy the photos!
The photos were taken using my SD 780 IS
Might be a little graphic (you are forewarned)
So my friend owns two tiny snakes. He feeds them baby rats. Gross to some, but normal to others. In any case, I had my little HD camera with me and decided to record it. It came out ok, but the focusing was tough. I put the camera on “macro” mode because I wanted to get up close and personal, but it didn’t quite work out the way I wanted it to. It’s still a cool video none the less. There is no blood or anything, but for those of you who don’t like to see little babies being eaten by snakes, then you should not watch this video. You have been warned.
Kabujima
Down in Hachinohe, there is a port. Well, quite a few of them actually, but one area in particular is quite nice. There is an island called Kabujima. Well, it’s actually more of a small part of land that juts out into the ocean, but I guess it’s too small to even be considered a peninsula obviously. Anyhow, there had to have been over 1000 seagulls there. If you can see in one of the pictures, at the bottom of the stairs, there is a stand that has free umbrellas to use for obvious reasons. My friend and I barely escaped unscathed! We were standing by the entrance when we heard a whizzing sound followed by a “SPLAT!” We looked around and checked each other over to check for battle damage, but luckily it had landed directly between us. I was glad I was wearing my NorthFace with it’s water repelling abilities. haha. Anyways, enjoy the photos and feel free to leave comments/critiques on my editing.
Tokyo
Went to Tokyo for a little 5 day vacation with a friend who is getting ready to leave. It was definitely a fun time. We went bar hopping and did a little bit of sight-seeing. We walked around Akihabara but it was late and on a Sunday so nothing was really going on. Harajuku however, was definitely busy and full of people. We walked through quite a few crowded streets. If anyone has been to central Tokyo, they will soon realize that the suburbs/downtown area is either for shopping or for drinking/clubbing. Sightseeing is more along the outskirts of central Tokyo. I mean, there are some sites in central Tokyo, but it’s more for seeing the people, such as in Harajuku and Akihabara. Also, for those of you with a bike fetish, I caught a few shots of some track bikes while walking around. Enjoy the photos in the gallery!
Asamushi Aquarium
This weekend, I decided to take a drive. So I went to Asamushi Aquarium. It is definitely nothing like Churaumi Aquarium in Okinawa, but it’s one of the local attractions. The drive took about an hour and a half, close to two hours. There was a lot of scenery on the way up. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to stop to take pictures on the way as the road I took was single lane and no shoulder. This particular outing, I used my brand spankin’ new lens ‘Canon 17-40mm f/4 L’. It is obviously not meant to be used indoors, particularly at an aquarium, but I wanted to try it out. It didn’t do too bad indoors. Obviously you can tell by the photos that all the outdoor settings were much nicer. It is of course a great piece of glass none the less. Anyhow, as soon as I finish sorting out these photos (probably tonight), they should be up on my new gallery page. Feel free to leave comments. Enjoy!
Edit: Photos are up. Go check out my gallery!
Asahiyama Zoo
So I went to the Asahiyama Zoo. Located in, that’s right, Asahiyama. It is about a 2.5 hour drive from Sapporo, 2 hours if you’re speeding. The zoo design is what is called a ‘Capsule Zoo’, in that each display had an indoor capsule to view the animals on the outside. The concept is interesting, but due to the winter weather, all the animals were not very active. I’m sure in the summer time they would all be out and about. In any case, click on “pages > gallery” to see the pictures.
