I've been hobbled..

If you follow my blog (there must be few out there), you may be wondering why I'm suddenly posting again after being silent for a long time. There's actually a very sensible and painful reason. About two weeks ago, during a Sunday run along the Meguro River Green Road (目黒川緑道) and Kitazama River Green Road (北沢川緑道) in Setagaya, I tripped on uneven pavement, rolled my left ankle and took a fall. Initially, I thought my ankle was sprained, hobbled home, iced & elevated my ankle and rested on the couch for the remainder of the day. Since I was planning to go skiing later that week, on Monday I visited the clinic and after an x-ray, the doctors determined that my injury was much more severe. My ankle was fractured! There was a hairline fracture across my lateral malleolus, the lower extremity of the fibula. Basically, this means more time on the couch or at a chair and less time out and about. Since I will not be out out exploring, I have plenty of time to catch up on my blog.

In the details or can you believe that this is a storm grate?

I've been going through some of photos I took back in 2009 and thought that this photo was interesting. I've always found that the Japanese are especially good at the small details that make even the most mundane of things interesting. This stormdrain grating in Setagaya near Baji Koen had an unusual pattern. Not sure if it is a bunch of boys kicking balls or a boys kicking other boys heads. The repetitive pattern or tessellation is very Escheresque.

Nikon D700with Nikon 50mm f/1.4G AF-Sf8, ISO 400, 1/50 sec.

Setagaya Cherry Trees

The family was at a friend's house in Setagaya earlier in June.  The cherry tree lined streets lost all their flowers several months ago, but still have plenty of charm (and shade from the summer heat).

BTW - One of the streets nearby was in featured in an earlier post with the blossoms just past their prime.

Some streets are prettier than others

During cherry blossom season, some streets are much prettier than others.  I've had the opportunity to drive through several cherry tree tunnels in the Kanto area. 

This one is located in downtown Sagamihara, a suburb of Tokyo.

It was so pretty I had to take a look through my rearview mirror.

This is the street you have to drive down to get to a friends house in Setagaya. There are some smaller pedestrian paths through this neighborhood that are even more amazing.

I just wish I had an open top car to take it all in.