JAPANESE CUTE

 

At the Red Lantern Night Market. I don’t think there is a people on earth who do cute as intensely as the Japanese. You could leave the market with more J Cute stuff than could fit in your car (nobody goes by public transport here), and some people might eagerly do so.                             

THEY LOVE BASEBALL IN JAPAN

The Japanese Society of St. Louis had a table at Earth Day. My granddaughter, of course, was attracted by the anime trinkets. The woman representing the society was wearing a stunning kimono, covered with emblems of our mediocre baseball team. Nobody says konichiwa! when you enter its stadium.                       

CITY DAILY PHOTO OCTOBER THEME DAY - REST, SLEEP OR RELAXATION

Not St. Louis but meaningful to me. This picture was taken some years ago on Miyajima Island, Japan. If I understood correctly, the whole island is both a Buddhist temple and Shinto shrine. We found this on a path through the woods. The little animals give it an asleep in a manger feel. 

See how other City Daily Photo members chill out at https://citydailyphoto.org/category/theme-days/               

SAKURA

Our botanical garden has a large, gorgeous Japanese area. It's cherry blossom time, sakura in Japanese. They were out in their glory this week although most of the other trees were just beginning to bud. It was cloudy on the day we went and I may have to look again in sunshine.

Today's climate change note: Mrs. C  and I are planning a trip to Japan for this time next year, hoping for the same kind of scenery. We've been there before but it's been a long time. Our memory was that the sakura were in full bloom about a week into April. The Japanese have kept records of cherry blossom time for 1,200 years. A news item this week noted that the peak in Kyoto was March 25, the earliest in 12 centuries. We should time our trip accordingly.             

A LANTERN IN THE JAPANESE GARDEN

There are several lanterns made of stone or cement scattered around the Japanese garden. Although I've been to Japan a few times I do not know their function. Little light could come through that small hole. Are they merely decorative, symbolic or small lights to mark a path? Beats me. Help from Nipponophiles is welcome.  

But hey! The sun comes up in America again today.       

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - ATELIERE DES LUMIERES - VIEUX AMIS - LA VIE PARISIENNE

I'm not quite ready for this. Although my back pain is gone after the recent procedures, my gait is a mess and my leg muscles are like putty after a year and a half of under use. The muscles are barking (loudly) and I've become a major customer of the local Uber operation. But the show must go on.

On Friday, we went to the must-visit Ateliere des Lumieres, the workshops of light. It is an old iron foundry which now contains ephemeral, ever changing projections of art on some theme. This year it is Van Gogh and Japanese illustration. Later, we met some of our City Daily Photographer friends for a wonderful meal in an unpretentious cafe. You can't eat badly in France if you stay out of one of the (very few) McDonalds. That's me in the bottom picture, face in phone as usual.          

Born In The USA, Or Elsewhere

Faces in the crowd at the Mardi Gras parade. It was so packed it was hard to shoot individuals or small groups of people. At one point I set myself up in the shadows under a viaduct, looking at the streams of people walking from downtown into the Soulard district, like the photography advice sites say, waiting for people to come to me. Sorta worked. It was a lot easier to shoot up to people on the floats. 

I'm not a pop music fan but some of it leaks through to me. The song mentioned in the caption is well known. People sometimes chant it. I've given it a try only once. We once found ourselves on Myajima Island off the southern coast of Japan. The whole island is a Buddhist temple and Shinto shrine. Our group leader took us to a tiny bar, not even a sign outside. There was karaoke, of course. The patrons were mostly Japanese with some Brits and a few Swedes. We were the only Americans. To be brief, after rather too much sake the karaoke songbook was passed to me. I called up Springsteen's Born In The USA, singing a bit too loudly and with unreliable pitch. The other patrons, as Queen Victoria once said, were not amused.  

Palms Out, Palms Up

More of the same, but pretty good ones. I need a break. Going to a conference in Seattle next week, though. I'm supposed to work but there's so much to shoot in that city . . .  

Traffic Cop

Well, that's what these pictures make me think of. Probably not a good uniform out amidst the exhaust pipes but, if this were their job, they would still be obeyed. Japanese people are, above all else, respectful and polite. We've walked around in Tokyo traffic and everyone keeps their cool.            

Peppermint Sticks

The first of the Japanese dances involved walking in a circle while clacking these candy cane sticks in many rhythmic patterns. Not exactly a get up and boogie number but fun to hear and watch.             

Konichiwa!

Late post today. These 11-12 hour workdays gotta stop.

Anyway, the title means hello or good day in Japanese. The St. Louis Art Museum has a special exhibition going on called Conflicts of Interest: Art and War in Modern Japan. I think the beginning of the title is a pun. It's about art, propaganda and illustration during Japan's military conflicts from the 19th Century to World War II.

The museum held an event recently with Japanese-themed activities. These women are preparing for a folk dancing demonstration. I thought it was a bit staid but those gorgeous kimonos and the crimson obis with a dash of yellow at the back were stunning.             

We've Flown Back Home

.
It was a long day in the air yesterday, from Tokyo to Dallas-Fort Worth to St. Louis. Now we're back home, heavily jet lagged, but with American comfort food, The Daily Show and Colbert Report, and our own (soft!) bed. Everything went well on the trip - no late airplanes, no getting on the wrong Japanese train, no accidents. Perhaps by this weekend I'll write more detailed notes about our experience in Japan. One thing I can say quickly: we have never visited a country where we were more warmly and courteously received by everyone we met.

This photo above was taken from the ferry departing Niigata for Sado Island, posted here to represent our journey home.

Enjoying Japan but yearning for St. Louis

WHAT I'M FEELING RIGHT NOW: disoriented.
TOMORROW: back to The Lou and, um, probably the Thursday Arch Series.

STL DPB On The Road: Tokyo And Home

.

Back in Tokyo on Monday and home on Tuesday. We stayed in the bustling Sinjuku district. The west side of the enormous railroad station is all sleek office towers, including the striking Tokyo Municipal Government Center. The east side is crazy with department stores and teeming with alleys full of restaurants, bars and pachinko parlors, as pictured above. We went to an Indian restaurant for a respite from icky squishy fishy things. The chicken sag was terrific. Ooh, and maybe steak on the plane ride home.

On Tuesday morning in Tokyo, Monday night in the US, we head for Narita Airport and the long flight to Dallas-Fort Worth. A connection to St. Louis and then home. And melt into a soft American bed. We had a fabulous time but I'm off futons forever.

STL CDPB On The Road: Sado Island

.

Sado Island, off Niigata in the Sea of Japan, was once a remote place of exile. Being sent there was the harshest punishment the shogunate could dispense short of death. It's now a lovely place of tourism and the culture of premium rice. We had a rental car - I drove in Japan and lived to tell the tale. Well, it's not like I did it in Tokyo.

Speaking of which, on Monday we're back to the capital for one last night and them home Tuesday. It's been a long time very far from home.

LOTS MORE PICTURES JUST UPLOADED TO FLICKR

STL DPB On The Road: From Harugo-San to Niigata

.

We are on our way from the seclusion of Mt. Haguro to Niigata, a good size city on the Sea of Japan. Return to civilization! A real bed and Internet service! And there is a restaurant there called the Immigrant Café where they have a wide variety of western food. I want a burger! As much as this country fascinates me, I have never quite made peace with the food. Too many icky stinky fishy things, too many unrecognizable vegetables that taste like pickled cabbage gone bad. And sticky rice for breakfast. Eew.

In any event, I took this picture of Shinto priests performing a morning service before we left Mt. Haguro today. The next two days we’ll be on Sado Island in the Sea of Japan, which is really remote. No Internet, etc. Then back to Tokyo Monday on our way home.

I uploaded a group of Japan pictures to Flickr Friday night, Japan time. There’s a link on the left sidebar.

STL DPB On The Road: Harugo-San

.

Harugo-san is a sacred mountain in north-central Honshu, the largest of the Japanese islands. We stayed at Saikan Shokubo, a traditional inn at a religious site. Quiet, simple, very traditional Japanese. No chairs in our little room, just cushions on the floor. No doors or locks but rather sliding panels made of wood and thick paper. You sleep on futons and a comforter on the very, very hard and not at all comfortable floor. My American back has had enough of this but unfortunately we’re not quite through with it.

The Japanese have a traditional form of memorial to dead children called jizo. It is usually a simple stone statue of a round-face little person, covered in a dark red cloak and cap. Small toys or children’s juice boxes are often at their feet. On Mt. Haguro there is a forest of jizo, more than a thousand. Many are simple wood stakes. Others are statues wearing what we took to be the child’s own clothing, most with a little cloth change purse around their neck so they have a few coins to spend wherever they have gone. It is on of the most touching places we have ever seen.

STL DPB On The Road: Naruko Onsen

.

Onsen are a Japanese national tradition, and a damn good one. Entire towns are devoted to them, like Naruko Onsen where we spent a night. They are hot mineral spring baths, fed by geothermal energy from the many volcanoes. There are big public ones, with the bathers separated by sex. Everyone is nude and there is no prudishness about it whatever. Some locations have private onsen, where you can go soak alone or with that certain special someone. The water is very hot but not scalding. Ease yourself in and unwind for a half hour. You will leave your muscles utterly relaxed and your skin as smooth as silk. Aahhh. Not recommended, though, right after dinner or drinking alcohol. You can’t imagine how good these feel until you have tried it. The town has its own scenic gorge nearby, where you can see autumn in Japan in all its glory.

STL DPB On The Road: - Geibikei Gorge

.
The one thing to do near Hiraizumi is take a longish train ride to the village of Geibikei, where we joined busloads of Japanese tourists going for a boat ride through a scenic gorge. We were the only honkies in sight (true almost all the time outside of the cities). The gorge was pretty, the day perfect. The boatman pushed us by pole through the shallow water, entertaining the crowd with apparently hilarious Japanese jokes and, on the way back, singing folk tunes. The meaning was lost on us but his song was lovely and expressive.

STL DPB On The Road: Japan - Hiraizumi

.
October 24: We’ve spent the last four days in small towns and a mountaintop Shinto shrine complex. No Internet. There doesn’t seem to be any WiFi in this country, either. I’ve seen only one other person using a laptop in public. In any event, Hiraizumi is a small town with some very famous temple complexes. They are quite beautiful but there’s not a lot else to do here. Above, a scene from one of the temples.

BONUS: THE BEST ENGRISH JAPANESE TEE SHIRT FOUND ON THIS TRIP.

STL DPB On The Road: Matsushima, Japan

.
On Sunday, we took a day trip by rail and boat from Sendai to Matsushima, a bit up the Pacific coast. It has sacred and historic Buddhist sites. They date from the early 17th century, when the great feudal lord Date Masamune took control of the region and allied himself with the Tokugawa shogunate. Masamune is a big deal around here. He sent a diplomatic mission to Spain and Italy via Mexico, which returned with European loot and a few Christian ideas, the latter of which were harshly suppressed.

These photos were taken in the temple grounds and gardens of Entsuin, built by Masamune's son, Date Tadamune, in memory of his father.

I may not have Internet access for the next four days while we are out in rural north Honshu. Sometime soon I'll get many more of these pix on Flickr.