Sakabayashi or Sugidama

Have you ever seen a giant ball of cedar before? If you are in Japan, you'll probably see one and wonder what it is. It's a sakabayashi or sugidama and is usually found outside an establishment that sells quality sake (according to the Japan Times). This one that I spotted was located outside a restaurant along my walk from Tokyo Midtown to Nishi-Azabu crossing.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF @ 80 mm, f4.0, ISO 100, 1/80 sec.

Kinuta Park Animal Festival

Last weekend, we spent the afternoon at Kinuta Park in Setagaya outside central Tokyo. The 32nd Annual Setagaya Animal Festival（or 第32回世田谷区動物フェスティバル) was held that afternoon in the park and the highlight of the day was the Hawk Flight Show. The WFC had many different kinds of hawks and owls on display (I still haven't figured out what the WFC acronym means). It was unfortunate that these majestic birds were tethered for the show. I've see other flight shows where the birds are allowed to fly and return freely, but this safety measure was probably taken due to the unfamiliar territory for the birds and the handlers.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF @ 200 mm, f5.0, ISO 100, 1/640 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 24mm f/2.0 Nikkor AI @ f5.6, ISO 100,1/100 sec.

Outside the Sauna

On Halloween I was walking through Moto-Azabu to catch up with my children who started trick-or-treating without me, and I stopped to take this photo of Roppongi Hills outside the Chinese Embassy. The neon lights of the sauna across the street seemed to go compliment Roppongi Hills and the other street lights.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 24mm f/2.0 Nikkor AI @ f4, ISO 1600, 1/20 sec.