A Beautiful Reflection

Family from Australia have been visiting and we took this opportunity for a big trip through Japan with our kids. First stop out of Tokyo was Hiroshima. On the first day, we visited the sites in the city and on the second day we took a ferry to Miyajima (宮島).

Before all the shops had opened, we toured Itsukushima Shinre (厳島神社). There were plenty of photo ops but it wasn't until after returning from a visit of Mt. Misen that the Great Torii Gate became especially photogenic. The tide went out while we were away and the gate that was previously floating above the water was now on dry land. Many people were now walking around taking photos and closely examining the base of the giant torii gate. I'm did get too close to the gate or the sea, but was able to capture an the gate and its reflection in a tidal pool.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 24mm f/2.0 Nikkor AI @ f8, ISO 200,1/200 sec.

Akira

When I exited the Uniqlo in Shibuya this morning, there was this large wall surrounding several blocks under construction. Instead of the usual advertising and construction company propaganda,Katsuhiro Otomo’s Shōtarō Kaneda and his bike from the manga and anime Akira greeted me.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 24mm f/2.0 Nikkor AI @ f8, ISO 100, 1/500 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 24mm f/2.0 Nikkor AI @ f8, ISO 100, 1/60sec.

Fall flowers are pretty too!

I grew up in a the almost season-less sub-tropical climate of Southern Florida. It was hot, humid & wet in the summer and cool (almost never cold) and dry in the winter, which resulted in a practically endless growing season. There was very little variation in the flowers and plants that grew, and flowers for the most part would bloom year round.

This is not the situation in Tokyo and most of Japan. Seasons seem to be very distinct with certain flowers only appearing briefly during certain seasons. The Higanbana (red spider lily), white spider lily and toad lily appear in early fall. I'm still not sure what the purple and white bloom is.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f4.0, ISO 400, 1/125 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f4.0, ISO 100, 1/200 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f4.0, ISO 100, 1/125 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f4.0, ISO 400, 1/50 sec.