You may have noticed a distinct lack of postage on this blog recently. This is because the missus and myself were back in the UK, seeing my family. There’ll be more Japan-related posts soon(ish). In the meantime, here are some photos from our little sojourn.
Sheep. Unsurprisingly, you see lots of sheep in the Yorkshire Dales. These ones were hanging about near Leyburn.
A dry-stone wall. You see lots of these in the Dales, as well.
Wensleydale. Famous for its cheese, it’s also one of the few dales named after a village, rather than the river that runs through it.
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Love it or hate it, Tokyo’s Metropolitan Government Building is hard to miss:
Tokyo’s Chiyoda ward is not renowned for fishing, but this particular pond is always popular. In fact, part of it has been specially kitted out for city-dwelling Ahabs.
The greenness of the water makes me wonder if any normal (ie, one-headed) fish can survive. Perhaps a scuba diver occasionally hooks half-dead trout on the most forlorn-looking of fishermen’s hooks, just to keep their spirits up.
On the Chuo line to Shinjuku:
Yoyogi Park on a Sunday morning:
In the woods in Yoyogi Park:
Yebisu Garden Place, Ebisu:
Running through the quiet streets of Tokyo’s western suburbs:
People taking it easy under a tree in Showa Kinen Park, Tachikawa:
And people taking it not so easy:
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Ichigaya Station, Chiyoda: The weather took a distinct turn for the worse today. 6ºC and non-stop drizzle.
Now then now then now then,
Did you get your fill of hanami/cherry blossom photos for this year? Think you’ve got some pretty decent shots, do you? Do You? DO YOU? Well, in that case you’re in luck.
The good people over at Japan-related blog Wide Island View are running their annual (I think. Could be seasonal. Who knows?) photo contest. Three lucky scrotes will get to pick from a selection of items from White Rabbit Press – Japan’s finest purveyor of kanjified goods for the linguistically challenged.
The contest ends on 15th May, so get yer skates on and start fooling about with those contrast/colour/minger sliders in Photoshop!
Click here for more details.
This coming Sunday is shunbun no hi, or Vernal Equinox Day. Traditionally, on this day Japanese people would visit their ancestral graves and hold family reunions. These days, however, they are more likely to visit Starbucks and hold rat-like Chihuahuas.
Shunbun no hi also marks the beginning of spring. It won’t be long before coats are consigned to the wardrobe and t-shirts once again become acceptable outdoor attire. Fantastic.
For all you avid cherry-blossom watchers out there, sakura trees in Tokyo are expected to flower from the 24th March, and should be in full bloom on around the 1st April. Probably the best place for hanami (lit. “flower watching”) in Tokyo is Shinjuku Gyoen, which is pictured above in its late summer guise. It’s a tranquil green oasis in an otherwise concrete-filled desert. Yoyogi and Ueno parks are also good bets, but whatever you do, don’t bother with Inokashira Park in Kichijoji – it’s absolutely rubbish, you’d hate it.
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Well, I was convinced that the snow we had earlier this month would be the first – and last – for Tokyo this year, but I woke up this morning to find yet another covering of the white stuff:
Bought some strawberries today. I think they may have been grown in Chernobyl:
Last night’s snow was more robust than I had expected. The roof of almost every house between my home and office was covered with it this morning. The road-bound stuff didn’t fare so well, though:
Word of warning: leather-soled shoes + snow = certain death.
No more snow is forecast for the rest of the week. Chances are we won’t be seeing any more in Tokyo for the rest of the year, which is a shame. I was looking forward to seeing ‘proper’ snow, especially considering England has been having its whitest winter since 1980.
The first snow of the season has arrived here in Tokyo. Unfortunately it’s not cold enough for it to lay, which means an unpleasant trudge through slush to the train station tomorrow.
