First Snow

Smooth black pebbles are often found at the base of the water fountain where you cleanse your hands prior to making your approach to a Shinto Shrine.

The local Shinto shrine just a hop-skip-and-a-jump from home.

Intricate wood carvings of dragons and various motifs near the roofline of the shrine.

Offertory box where you make cash donations (usually a 5-yen coin) prior to ringing the bells and offering your prayers.

A small group of bamboo at the bottom of the hill where the shrine is located.

Love how even in the dead of winter we can still see some trees and bamboo flourishing.

Top of the roof of a nearby Buddhist sanctuary typically used for funerals.

Poor blossom buds are frozen in the first snow of the season.

Some citrus fruit come into season during this time of the year.

Visited the pond at the local park to try to enjoy the virgin snow before the kids arrive to "mess" it all up.

Thin layers of ice started forming on the pond. 

A small creek in the park offered a wonderful mirror image of this tree.

Spring blossoms struggling in the first snow of the year.

Allergy

Some tree caused my allergies to hit me with full force during an evening run.

Yamashita Park

Visited Yamashita Park on the Yokohama coastline in Tokyo Bay. Shot of Minato Mirai Yokohama.

Landmark Tower (left), Queens Square (two buildings in the center), Ferris wheel (right)

Steel

There is a large intersection between the Red Brick Warehouse the the seafarers' hotel. There are not crosswalks at the intersection. Instead, there is the steel pedestrian overpass that is built in a round shape with stairs and elevators at each corner of the intersection.

This long-exposure shot included someone who happened to walking by right in front of my camera while talking on their cell phone. Interestingly, the camera didn't pick up the person, but it caught the light from their cell phone.

With a little post-production of lighting, I was able to bring out the bluish gray hues of the steel. 

Pix4Japan by R.D.S. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Red Balconies

In the afternoon, we can see patrons at the restaurants enjoying their meals or drinks out on these balconies. I wonder why the warehouse originally had the balconies in the first place...

More corny self portraits.

Pix4Japan by R.D.S. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Me at MM21

Some corny self-portraits taken with a remote control and the camera on a tripod.

I kind like this shot more than the others.

The structure and design of older buildings had a lot of personality to them compared the efficient concrete and glass structures of today.

Pix4Japan by R.D.S. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

MM21 Buildings

Landmark Tower in Minato Mirai 21 District of Yokohama on the shores of Tokyo Bay. For many years, this was the tallest building in Japan. A feat considering that the tower was built on reclaimed land in a country notorious for earthquakes. 

The three towers in the middle are referred to collectively as Queen's Square. Office space on the upper floors with lots shopping and restaurants on the lower floors.

One of my favorite shots. I like taking night photography with the tripod. You never quite know how a shot will turn out until you actual close the shutter. It's a lot of fun to experiment! 

This shot was taken in bulb mode with the shutter left open for about 30 seconds. 

There is a small park near the tower where they have maintained the original railroad tracks that were once used when this area was a major port of importing and exporting. The area is still important for that industry, but the facilities have moved down the coast a bit and trucks are used more now than rail.

A local hotel run by a seafarers' (sailors') organization. Typically, the officers of ships stay here while the rest of the crew stay onboard their ship.

Having fun with different angles.

Pix4Japan by R.D.S. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.