Cherry Blossom Street in Matsudo
In my town here in Japan there’s a great little street known as sakura dori (Sakura Road) which is lined for probably 1 or 2 kilometers with Cherry Blossoms. They usually have a big festival on this road but last year the season came very early and unfortunately they weren’t able to do it. I still go to visit the road though and take some photos. This photo isn’t technically great for a lot of...
Plum Blossoms at Yushima Tenjin Jinja
Although Japan’s most famous flower is almost certainly the Cherry Blossom, the country also boasts another beautiful floral tree known as Ume [oo-meh], better known in English as the plum blossom. Like most flowers these come in a variety of colors, though primarily visitors will run across two specific colors: pink and white. While these lovely trees are not as numerous as the Cherry Blossoms, there are many great places around Tokyo to enjoy them....
Frozen Protector
This is another photo from one of the big snows we had around Japan in February. The statue here is called “komainu” – a lion/dog which is believed by some to protect the nearby shrine from evil spirits. I don’t know about that, but I do know it makes for an interesting photographic subject and I’ve often been interested by this particular angle, but until it snowed I had a hard time getting a shot...
Orange Autumn Evening at Matsudo Jinja
Although Spring is on the way, it feels to me like Autumn was only yesterday. I think part of the reason is that the Autumn colors this year seemed to last for a while. The Autumn of 2012 didn’t seem nearly as colorful to me, especially around where I live. But this year the colors lasted well into December. Not that I’m complaining – it was a beautiful sight, and gave me plenty of opportunity...
Everything Beautiful – Preparing For The Cherry Blossoms
Now that we’re in March, the Cherry Blossom trees will be blooming in just a few short weeks, so I’m preparing my photographic eye for the occasion by practicing on the lovely Ume (plum) Blossoms that are all around the area right now. This particular photo was taken at a little park in Tokyo’s Minato ward, not far from the Tokyo Tower. It reminds me of a lovely verse from the Bible: “God has made...