Golden Gingko Tree in Yoyogi Koen

Last week at the entrance to Yoyogi Koen, I spotted the first gingko turning yellow. Autumn colors on a gingko in Mid-October are not the norm here especially with the warm and pleasant autumn weather in Tokyo the last week or two. This specimen looked relatively young, so perhaps it was looking to get an early start on its elders?

Nikon D600 with Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AI-S @ f4.0, ISO 100, 1/50 sec.

Autumn is here (Part 2) - Ginkgo's in Arisugawa Memorial Park

Thanksgiving weekend we spent some time at Arisugawa-no-miya Memorial Park. I walked through the park on a lazy Friday afternoon and the returned again on Saturday with the family on the way to getting an ice cream at the Baskin-Robbins at National Azabu Market. We son had fun in the playground on a perfect autumn day .

Nikon D600 with Nikon 16-35mm f/4G ED VR II AF-S IF SWM @ 16 mm, f5.6, ISO 100, 1/200 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 16-35mm f/4G ED VR II AF-S IF SWM @ 16 mm, f5.6, ISO 100, 1/500 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AI-S @ f2.8, ISO 100, 1/3200 sec.

Meiji Jingu Gaien Ichou Namiki Matsuri 2012

Back at Meiji Jingu Gaien for the Ichou Namiki Matsuri 2012 today with the family.  As usually, my kids did not fully cooperate for a family photo.  Oh well, I will have to make to with these snaps of a fantastic day!

This is a close up of the ginkgo canopy full of gold and yellow.

Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f4.5, ISO 200, 1/500 sec.

The main avenue to the Meji Jingu Gaien is lined with ginkgo trees on both sides.  

Nikon 16-35mm f/4G ED VR II AF-S IF SWM @ 31 mm, f5.6, ISO 200, 1/250 sec.

Nikon 16-35mm f/4G ED VR II AF-S IF SWM @ 24 mm, f5.6, ISO 200, 1/250 sec.

One of the more creative photographers that I observed today.  I believe that she successfully and creatively incorporated the golden hues of beer with the golder hues of the autumn ginkgo leaf.

Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f5.6, ISO 200, 1/250 sec.

Meiji Jingu Gaien Ichou Namiki Matsuri

The family was at the Meiji Jingu Gaien Ichou Namiki Matsuri or Ginkgo Street Festival this past weekend.  I wish we could have stayed longer, but I wasn't in the best physical condition. I am recovering from a lingering bout of pneumonia.

The street leading up to Meiji Jingu Gaien is lined by two rows of ginkgo trees on each side. This is often referred to as Icho Namiki. This year's trees didn't seem to be as full of leaves as last year. Perhaps the trees were trimmed back a little too aggressively in the spring or perhaps the weather was not as favorable in the spring and summer.

Each side of the street has a very festive pedestrian lane.

The flow of pedestrian traffic was often impeded by those stopping to take photos or just stopping to enjoy the golden leaves.

Tokyo's city logo is everywhere - Part 2

If you were wondering, I am fine.  The earthquake hit Sendai last Friday will I was at work.  My offices are about 45 km from central Tokyo.  For those living and working in the Tokyo area the earthquake was mostly a big inconvenience rather than a disaster.  If you didn't live close to home, didn't want to walk or didn't want to fight traffic in a car, you were stuck at the office or at the train station.  It took me 7-hours to drive home but I got home, unlike the many unfortunate souls in Miyagi Prefecture.

Anyway, back to our regular scheduled programming.  I am still working on my gingko log of Tokyo.  Here are few more that I captured.  You could walk right over these, if you weren't paying attention.

This is a Toei Subway air vent grating.

This fire hydrant manhole cover is circled with ginkgo leaves.

And this is another random manhole cover.

Finally, this survey marker is located at the base of Tokyo Tower.

Tokyo's city logo is everywhere - Part 1

I'm not sure what the connection is, but the logo for Tokyo is the humble Gingko leaf.  If you pay attention as you walk through this hectic metropolis, you'll find this logo used as a design element in many different things.  Over the last several weeks I taken pictures of a few them.

This ginkgo decorated manhole cover was located in Aoyama Bochi (cemetery).

These leaves were embossed as part of a marble trimmed planter box near the Omotosando Koban (Police Box).

The ginkgo leaf is also the logo for the Tokyo Bureau of Transportation also know as Toei (Wikipedia).  The ginkgo leaf is featured on street cars, buses and their subway lines. This useful "Transfer and Exit Information" chart is displayed in several locations on all train platforms. In addition to having a gingko leaf logo in the top corner, it can save you precious time when making transfers and exiting the station by showing which car is nearest to the exit, escalator, elevator or transfer point.

Here's one of their old but well preserved street cars on display near Ueno Zoo.

Autumn Colors

I've been busy lately, so there hasn't been much time to take photos or post. Anyway, the family did make it out to Hibiya Park last weekend. There was one particular Ginkgo (ｲﾁｮｳ) that caught my eye and some maples that were nice too.

This beautiful Ginkgo was in the Children's playground.

These maples were located in one of the Japanese gardens.

Ginkgo

There are stunning Ginkgo trees all over Tokyo.  Ginkgo leaves are especially beautiful in early spring and autumn.  This particular tree is located near Hiro-o Byoin-mae.

Spring Trees

The parks in Tokyo aren't very big when compared to other cities, but they are very beautiful.

I spotted some beautiful spring trees at Himonya Park.  I thought that it was unusual to see the red and green varieties of the Japanese Maple in spring. 

Here are some green maple leaves.

Here are some of the red variety.

Here are some spring Ginkgo leaves.

First Post

This is to be a blog full of my photos of "Living in Japan", especially Tokyo.  However, I will not fill it with family photos or snaps.  This is to be personal yet impersonal project.  It will be filled with the everyday sights of Japan.  Things that I find, beautiful, strange, sublime, funny and unusual.

The title alludes to my conflicted feelings that I have for Tokyo.  Sometimes one truly feels lost in this big, frenetic city.  Other times there is a sense of discovery... finding things unexpected, forgotten or lost. 

Hopefully, I will be able to explore these feelings and share them with you.  If you find my photos interesting, please post comments.

Anyway, enough of my ramblings.

Strange sculpture near the French
Ambassador's residence in Minami Azabu.

Restaurant near Sangen-Jaya Station (三軒茶屋駅)

Sculpture on pedestal at the entrance to Meiji Jingu Gaien (Meiji Shrine Outer Garden).
Is it a unicorn? Kirin?

Ginkgo Avenue (aka Icho Namiki ) near the Meiji Jingu Gaien.
The ginkgo leaves are almost at peak fall color.

Japanese Maple Tree in "Step" Park in Moto Azabu