The complete eclipse, with ring of fire, is due to sweep across Kobe, Osaka, Nagoya, and Tokyo at about Monday, 7.30am, 21st May. However, it depends on the weather, and currently it seems a bit too 50-50 to get excited.
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This Photo of the Week is from the Tado Horse Festival. I’ve written about this before, but the summary is that the event is hundreds of years old, and if the horse gets over a mound of earth atop a hill then there will be a good rice harvest later in the year. Following the festival the local farmers can begin to plant their rice. And there’s always a catch, the horse, rider, and the hill all have to be appropriately inebriated with sake. More details can be found in previous posts, and this time I provide more info than what is on Wikipedia/Tado_Festival. See the Tado Horse Festival gallery for more images.
Tags: animal rights, festival, horse festival, japan, japanese, matsuri, tado
The super moon at 7.12pm on the 6th May 2012, where it was 357,047km from Earth, appearing about 14% larger. Here’s the BBC News story, and below is my image of the heroic moon rising over Nagoya Port and Japan’s automotive export hub:
Yesterday’s supermoon:
Tags: japan, japanese, moon, night, super moon
The basics:
A drunken rider takes a drunken horse up a drunken hill. If they make it up and over a mound, then this heralds a good rice harvest later in the year. After the event the local farmers can begin planting their rice. About 120,000 people annually go to see this event, which dates back hundreds of years (I don’t know how many, I’m afraid). Local animal rights groups complain about the event and the stress it causes to the horses, and the participation of school-aged teenagers as well. The event has changed some features, including lowering the height of the mound / obstacle on top of the hill, and reducing the amount of alcohol the horses (and riders) are given. I’m not sure of the details, but it seems that this year the main change was the quantity of alcohol, but the mound seems be about the same as usual (though last years was low). Images will be added to this Tado Horse Festival portfolio in the coming days.
The mound atop the hill is broken to make it easier for the horse to get over.
A horse running up to the mound. The horse gets about a 100 meter run up.
Tags: festival, horse festival, japan, japanese, matsuri, tado
This Photo of the Week is inspired by Fujifilm Velvia 100. Fujifilm has announced price rises for the month of May, which is tragic news. And to share the love of film, here’s an image from the Naked Man Festival, taken on Fujifilm Velvia100. See the blog for details on Fujifilm and the Naked Man Festival.
Tags: festival, film, fujifilm, japan, japanese, naked man, velvia100
I received this very tragic and disturbing news today, Fujifilm has announced a price hike on their film, including my favourite, the beautiful Velvia 100 colour slide film! However, they are quick to point out that a price hike is better than cutting the line of films. Thanks to Alberto on G+ for sharing this news.
Below: Dancers performing in Osu Kanon to a mainly male audience. Photo taken on Fujifilm Velvia 100.
This Photo of the Week is from the infamous Gion Kyoto. It is a huge tourist attraction, drawing in tens of millions of Japanese and foreign tourists annually. The highlight has been Kinkakuji or “Golden Pavilion”. However, I decided to show something that you can imagine yourself in… Gion and a rickshaw. You and your boyfriend / girlfriend / husband / wife / family / buddies can rent a kimono (each) and stroll around Kyoto as though you were a Gion resident a hundred years ago, take a rickshaw ride to see a blossoming plum tree, go to a restaurant or tea house, before returning to the kimono rental store, before having a night out on the town. See more Kyoto photos on my PhotoShelter portfolio.
Tags: flowers, japan, japanese, kyoto, plum, rickshaw, spring
I’ve just received an email alerting me that because of the Easter Holiday, one of the vendors (Adorama Pix) that receives some of my print orders on my PhotoShelter account will be closed from the 5th to the 14th April. Any order that they receive in this time is kept and will be processed as soon as they can after the holidays. I assume there would be a backlog, so if it’s urgent contact me so I can check to see if your order may be delayed, and I could organise for alternative options to be set up in the automated ordering system for you.
I apologise for the inconvenience, and also wish I had advance notice of this interruption.
I was really surprised, perhaps along with about 100 million other residents in Japan, to hear the opening news story at 7pm that a typhoon-like storm is threatening Japan tomorrow (3rd April). That kind of storm that the Japan Meteorological Agency is worried about is reserved only for summer and for actual typhoons; but it’s the end of winter and early spring? We were told that there would be unpredictable consequences and possible erratic weather as a result of unbalancing the climate. I’d like to hear what logic climate skeptics might attempt to use to explain this!
The current storm warning in Japan as at 22.54, 02 April 2012
Left, the storm warning map showing current warnings several hours ahead of the expected storm. Below, boats moored in a marina behind storm surge walls for Typhoon Talas in 2011.
Edit: Updated map, 3rd April, 2012, from the Japan Meteorological Agency website, at 6pm. For related news see the Bloomberg website, and the NHK website.
Storm warnings in Japan as at 3April 2012 15.50
Tags: japan, japanese, meteorology, storm, weather
This Photo of the Week is from the new art collection called “Jazz Improv, portraits of a tog”. Each image has a unique subtitle denoting something about the image. All photos were shot of film (Kodak Ekta100), and appear on the negatives as you see them displayed in the gallery (here Jazz Improv).
In a sense, I love and hate street photography. I love the variety and diversity of people’s existence, and being able to see things. At the same time it can feel creepy and voyeuristic, despite being public; and so these themes are explored. All images are available for electronic download or as high quality art products shipped worldwide.
Jazz Improv, portraits of a tog: Dude & his buddy.
Tags: art, japan, japanese, jazz improv, photography, potw, street