Kawasaki Park

Nice Catch!

Spent an evening last October at a big park in Kawasaki where there were hardly any people around, which gave me the chance to play Frisbee with Dale-chan. It was really hard to throw the disk and then try to focus in time to catch while she is mid-air trying to catch her Frisbee.

ISO 800 at ƒ/4.5 for 1/400 sec.

#dog #pet #BorderCollie #Frisbee

#犬 #愛犬 #ボーダーコリー #フリスビー #ディスクキャッチ

Although the so-called golden hour and blue hour are great for landscape photography, I have learned that such low-light conditions make it real tough to get a tack-sharp photo of a dog quickly flying through the air. Will have to try this kind of shot again during the afternoon under a clear sky and a wider aperture.

ISO 800 at ƒ/4.5 for 1/640 sec.

#dog #pet #BorderCollie #Frisbee #disc #disk

#犬 #愛犬 #ボーダーコリー #フリスビー #ディスクキャッチ #ディスク

Happy Border Collie

A dog and her disc.

ISO 800 at ƒ/4.5 for 1/250 sec.

#dog #pet #BorderCollie #Frisbee #disc #disk

#犬 #愛犬 #ボーダーコリー #フリスビー #ディスクキャッチ #ディスク

Anticipation.

Finally found a use for the app on my phone that allows me to change settings and take shots on the camera while mounted to a tripod. After several attempts, I gave up trying to get her head centered perfectly. Every time I moved the disk, she would move and get out of focus or lunge for the disk. In the end, we had fun just throwing the disk and catching it mid-air.

ISO 400 at ƒ/5.6 for 1/60 sec.

#dog #pet #BorderCollie #Frisbee #disc #disk

#犬 #愛犬 #ボーダーコリー #フリスビー #ディスクキャッチ #ディスク

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Sasuke Inari Shrine Kamakura

Yachts Offshore

Yachts from Australia, Japan, Great Britain, New Zealand, Poland, and the USA.

ISO 400 at ƒ/16 for 1/400 sec.

#sailing #sailboats #SagamiBay #Route134 #ShichirigahamaBeach #Kamakura #Japan

#セーリング #ヨット #相模湾 #国道134号 #鎌倉

Rounding the Bend

Shot of a west-bound 300 series train on the Enoshima Electric Railway (founded in 1902). The line basically runs along the coastline between Fujisawa and Kamakura on a single track. There are several passing loops along the line, which allow both east-bound and west-bound trains to run simultaneously.

On weekdays, the train is crowded with office commuters and students. On weekends and holidays, the trains are crowded with tourists enjoying seascapes while going to and from Kamakura, which was one of the ancient capitals of Japan between 1192  and 1333.

ISO 400 at ƒ/14 for 1/320 sec.

#train #tunnel #Enoden #SagamiBay #Route134 #ShichirigahamaBeach #Kamakura #Japan

#電車 #江ノ電 #相模湾 #国道134号 #鎌倉

End of Tunnel

Riding the east-bound train on the Enoden Line heading to Kamakura. The Yuigahama Beach near this tunnel has very calm waves and is a popular site for windsurfers.  

ISO 400 at ƒ/4 for 1/60 sec.

#train #Enoden #YuigahamaBeach #Kamakura #Japan

#電車 #江ノ電 #相模湾 #由比ヶ浜 #鎌倉

A giboshi is the onion-shaped ornamental finial used on the tops of railing posts of a shrine or temple. Giboshi can also be seen on bridge posts in a traditional garden. Most giboshi that I have seen are made of brass or bronze and have become heavily oxidized. In Japan, this architectural element dates back to the 12th and 13th century making them ubiquitous at almost any shrine or temple.

ISO 400 at ƒ/4 for 1/60 sec.

#giboshi #giboshikouran #balustrade #railpost #ornamental #finial #shrine #traditional #Shinto #architecture #Kamakura #Japan

#擬宝珠 #擬宝珠高欄 #宝珠 #和様 #神社 #神道 #鎌倉

Torii Gates

These torii gates line a narrow stone path leading to Sasuke Inari Shrine, which is tucked away between where two hills meet lined with sharp cliffs and a dense green canopy. The shrine was established 800 years ago by Minamoto Yoritomo, the first Shogun of Kamakura, in gratitude to a white fox that advised him on battle victories, which allowed him to become Shogun. Each torii gate has been donated by individuals or companies praying for their own victories in business. The flags next to each torii gate show the name of the shrine and the names of each donor.

ISO 400 at ƒ/4 for 1/10 sec.

#torii #toriigates #flags #InariShrine #SasukeInariShrine #shrine #traditional #Shinto #Kamakura #Japan

#鳥居 #指物 #幟 #稲荷神社 #佐助稲荷神社 #神社 #日本の伝統文化 #神道 #鎌倉

White Foxes

According to legend, Minamoto Yoritomo (1185–1333) had a dream where an Inari Fox messenger appeared and gave him strategic battle advice. Minamoto won his battles and gained the power to establish a new government in Kamakura where he became Japan's first shogun and to establish a new class of warriors called samurai. Nowadays, visitors to Sasuke Inari Shrine (established by Minamoto) offer prayers with a small white porcelain Inari Fox in hopes of achieving their own personal "battle" victory, which can range from giving birth to a child to winning an important business contract. The forest canopy enveloping the shrine has created a lush, green landscape where every last inch of every carved stone and wooden structure is covered in moss. This stands in stark contrast with the shiny new little white porcelain Inari Foxes that crowd every flat surface near the shrine.

ISO 400 at ƒ/4.5 for 1/30 sec.

#fox #inariokami #foxdeity #InariShrine #SasukeInariShrine #shrine #traditional #Shinto #Kamakura #Japan

#キツネ #稲荷大神 #大稲荷 #稲荷神社 #佐助稲荷神社 #神社 #日本の伝統文化 #神道 #鎌倉

Inari Fox Messengers

Traditionally, white foxes were believed to deliver messages to man from the Inari deity. Over time, the foxes themselves have become the objects of worship themselves. In modern times, many patrons to an Inari Shrine are more likely to be tourists (like me) who buy a porcelain fox and place it next to the shrine as a kind of good-luck charm in hopes of having a wish fulfilled. The Sasuke Inari Shrine is off the beaten path and not a popular destination for the hordes of tourists. It’s great to visit such a shrine and have the whole place to myself. One can sit and ponder the rich history surrounding the shrine, relax and take deep breaths of the fresh air, mellow in the aroma of the dense forest, and try to imagine the clothes, conversations, and feelings of other visitors to this same shrine over the past 800 years.

ISO 400 at ƒ/4 for 1/50 sec.

#fox #inariokami #foxdeity #InariShrine #SasukeInariShrine #shrine #traditional #Shinto #Kamakura #Japan

#キツネ #稲荷大神 #大稲荷 #稲荷神社 #佐助稲荷神社 #神社 #日本の伝統文化 #神道 #鎌倉

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Hiratsuka Beach

Border Collie at Beach

Banking a hard right before catching her Frisbee at the beach.

ISO 400 at ƒ/7.1 for 1/500 sec.

#dog #pet #bordercollie #beach #sand #Shonan #Hiratsuka #Japan

#犬 #愛犬 #ボーダーコリー #海岸 #砂 #湘南 #平塚

Border Collie at Beach

Cooling her paws in the cool ocean waters under the hot summer sun.

ISO 400 at ƒ/5.6 for 1/320 sec.

#dog #pet #bordercollie #beach #sand #Shonan #Hiratsuka #Japan

#犬 #愛犬 #ボーダーコリー #海岸 #砂 #湘南 #平塚

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Harbor View Park

Withering Orange Rose

Shot taken in the rose garden behind a Spanish-style house at Yamate Bluff No. 111,  which was built in 1929 for an American businessman, Mr. Raffin, who worked in the foreign exchange business. 

ISO 400 at ƒ/5.6 for 1/250 sec.

#YamateBluff111 #rose #flower #rosegarden #Yokohama

#山手111番館 #バラ #花 #ローズガーデン #横浜

Light Purple Rose

"Even a beautiful rose approaching decline has a different beauty that many overlook and scoff at. The bounteous joy, awe, and fragrance she gave during her prime may have diminished, but her value to me lasts until her very last petal slowly drifts away like a feather in the wind.”

ISO 400 at ƒ/5.6 for 1/160 sec.

#YamateBluff111 #rose #flower #rosegarden #Yokohama

#山手111番館 #バラ #花 #ローズガーデン #横浜

Yokohama Bay Bridge as seen from Harbor View Park

The Yokohama Bay Bridge is one of my favorite structures in the Bay of Yokohama. Back in the 80s, driving to Tokyo on the Shuto Expressway, an elevated highway that runs along the shoreline of Tokyo Bay starting in Yokohama, was just a long, bumper-bumper, jam-packed highway that inched along with a toll to boot. Even so, it was still faster to reach Tokyo than taking the city streets down below. When the bridge opened in 1989, my mates and I would "race" each other over the bridge and take one of the expressway loops in the heart of Tokyo where we’d loop back to Yokohama and cross the bridge again. Below the bridge is the Daikoku Futo rest area where we’d take a break and then start over again throughout the night until the sun rose or the cops showed up on the scene. We were the original Tokyo Drifter minus the Yakuza ties. We had a close-knit community of Japanese blue-collar car hobbyists with a mix of young U.S. sailors and who were especially skilled at salvaging older cars from the 70s like the Nissan Skyline, Sylvia, Gloria, and Fairlady Z; or the  Toyota Celica, Supra, Cresta, and Mark II. I am so grateful I survived my stupid, naive, and younger years without getting killed or killing anyone else. We did lose one friend who was only 19 years old, but that was a case of him driving while sleepy and had nothing to do with drifting on the expressway or winding mountain roads. 

ISO 400 at ƒ/14 for 1/320 sec.

#YokohamaBayBridge #YokohamaBay #PortofYokohama #HarborViewPark #Yokohama

#横浜ベイブリッジ #横浜湾 #横浜港 #港の見える丘公園 #横浜

Dark Pink Rose

The Harbor View Park, located up on a bluff overlooking the Port of Yokohama, was originally a British military garrison with up to 1,700 soldiers and marines starting back in 1862. The Shogunate granted the land to the Brits and they quickly set up their own home-away-from-home. Now in the 21st century, a portion of the grounds have been turned into a beautiful rose garden open to the public year-round.

ISO 800 at ƒ/7.1 for 1/400 sec.

#rose #garden #park #HarborViewPark #Yokohama

#バラ #ロースガーデン #公園 #港の見える丘公園 #横浜

Bumblebee and Lavender

Shot of a bumblebee gathering nectar from flowering lavender in the Harbor View Park up on the bluff in Yokohama. I wish I could have gotten a better shot of this worker, but she was moving too fast for me to keep up. Fortunately, Yokohama city has planted a lot of lavender in many green spaces throughout the city. Lavender seems to be quite popular for aesthetic reasons, but it also plays an important role in preserving some of the ecosystem bumblebees need since they prefer violet-colored flowers for their primary source of food.

ISO 800 at ƒ/7.1 for 1/320 sec.

#bee #bumblebee #flower #pollinator #closeup #lavender #violet #purple #insect

#ハチ #マルハナバチ #花 #花粉媒介者 #大写し #クローズアップ #ラベンダー #スミレ色 #紫 #昆虫

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Permissions beyond the scope of this license are available at Caubarrere Piché.

Kamakura

Kazaridaru - Decorative Barrels of Japanese Sake (Rice Wine)

According to Shinto tradition, sake (rice wine) is believed to bring the Gods and mortals closer together and bring happiness. The tradition continues today with sake brewers donating empty barrels with each company's particular brand to pray for a good rice harvest. Some barrels full of sake, however, are shipped to  shrines for use in religious ceremonies such as weddings, or served at festivals and other celebratory events. The barrels can also be bought by the general public for about 100,000 yen (approx. 900 dollars) for 72 liters (19 gallons) of sake.

ISO 1600 at ƒ/14 for 1/800 sec.

#Japanese #traditional #shrine #sake #barrel #ricewine #Shinto #ceremonial #sacred #container #straw #rope #brewer #rice #wine #holy #offering

#日本の文化 #伝統的 #神社 #酒樽 #お酒 #神道 #儀式用 #神聖

Crows on a Power Line

A murder of crows eyeing scraps of food on a street below in Kamakura, Japan.

The Kamakura coastline is densely packed with small homes and apartments built on spare land tucked in between steep hills that form a jagged landscape. These hills are thickly covered with trees and vegetation where crows can safely nest and raise their young while flying over to human habitats to scavenge for kitchen scraps put out on the street on garbage pick-up day, or to clean up after tourists who drop bits of food that they bought at one of the many food stalls set up for festivals held at Hachimangu Shrine in Kamakura.

ISO 1600 at ƒ/16 for 1/1000 sec.

#crow #bird #black #raven #wire #sky #beaks #talons #wings #crows #birds #ravens #feathers

#烏 #カラス #黒 #電線 #空 #くちばし #爪 #翼

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Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

Sakura

Various breeds of cherry blossom trees in bloom at Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden in the heart of Tokyo.

ISO 800 at ƒ/14 for 1/400 sec.

#sakura #cherryblossoms #ShinjukuGyoen #NationalPark #Tokyo

#桜 #新宿御苑 #国民公園 #東京

Sakura

Close up shot of some cherry blossoms in full bloom at Shinjuku Gyoen in Tokyo.

ISO 800 at ƒ/6.3 for 1/2500 sec.

#sakura #cherryblossoms #ShinjukuGyoen #NationalPark #Tokyo

#桜 #新宿御苑 #国民公園 #東京 #春

Sakura

Close up shot of a pink breed of cherry blossoms called kanhizakura at Shinjuku Gyoen in Tokyo.

ISO 800 at ƒ/8 for 1/800 sec.

#kanhizakura #sakura #cherryblossoms #ShinjukuGyoen #NationalPark #Tokyo

#桜 #新宿御苑 #国民公園 #東京 #春 #カンヒザクラ #寒緋桜

Somei Yoshino Cherry Blossoms

A single-flowering variety of cherry blossom with slightly pink petals.

ISO 800 at ƒ/8 for 1/800 sec.

#SomeiYoshino #sakura #cherryblossoms #ShinjukuGyoen #NationalPark #Tokyo

#桜 #新宿御苑 #国民公園 #東京 #春 #ソメイヨシノ #染井吉野

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

Shinjuku Gyoen was initially the private garden of a feudal lord starting back in 1772. It became an imperial garden for the emperor and his guests from 1879. WWII destroyed most of the garden, but it was rebuilt and opened up to the public in 1949. 

ISO 800 at ƒ/11 for 1/250 sec.

#sakura #cherryblossoms #TamamoPond #ShinjukuGyoen #NationalPark #Tokyo

#桜 #玉藻池 #新宿御苑 #国民公園 #東京

NTT Docomo Yoyogi Building

View of Tokyo's 4th tallest building (240 m or 790 ft) as seen from the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden during the cherry blossom viewing season.

ISO 800 at ƒ/11 for 1/1000 sec.

#skyscraper #Shinjuku #Sakura #NTT #skyline #NationalPark #Tokyo

#超高層ビル #新宿 #桜 #NTTドコモ代々木ビル #街並み #新宿御苑 #国民公園 #東京

Early Spiketail

Shot of an early spiketail (a flowering shrub native to Japan) with cherry blossoms in the background.

ISO 800 at ƒ/9 for 1/500 sec.

#Kifuji #earlyspiketail #ShinjukuGyoen #NationalPark #Tokyo

#キフジ #新宿御苑 #国民公園 #東京

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Asakusa

Sakura Flower Arrangement

Part of an ikebana flower arrangement in a Tokyo cafe.

ISO 800 at ƒ/5.6 for 1/100 sec.

#sakura #cherryblossom #ikebana #flowerarrangement #Tokyo

#桜 #生花 #フラワーアレンジメント  #カフェ #東京

Koi Carp

Huge Japanese orange and white koi carp at a pond in a local park in Tokyo.

ISO 800 at ƒ/7.1 for 1/250 sec.

#koi #carp #fish #Japanese #pond #park #Tokyo

#鯉 #淡水魚 #魚 #日本の #池 #公園 #東京

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Pix for Japan by Iketani, Daisei is licensed under a
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Permissions beyond the scope of this license are available at Caubarrere Piché.