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Japan 2018

Started by art128, October 22, 2018, 03:29:39 AM

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art128

Hello! &hlp

I am currently in Japan for three weeks. My trip will be Hiroshima > Kure > Takehara > Onomichi > Kurashiki > Osaka [+Nara, Kobe, Himeji] > Kyoto. :) :)

I will try to post my pictures here daily, but editing the RAW on this 13" thinkpad isn't the easiest thing.  :-[
I am shooting using my D3200 and a few different lenses. (8mm fisheye, 30mm 1.4, 50mm 1.8, 35-70mm, 70-300mm.) and my Nikon FE armed with a few 200 and 800 iso rolls, which I plan on shooting only the best with it.

The plane trip went very well. Quite satisfied of KLM even in Economy, lots of food and drinks and quite enough legroom in the 777. I arrived this morning at Kansai International Airport and took the train directly to Hiroshima. (Haruka + Nozomi shinkansen) It was around lunch when I arrived at Hiroshima and checked in my hostel.

Not a lot of pictures for this afternoon sadly and not the best quality either. I was extremely tired due to not having had a single minute of sleep in 24+ hours. (got home at midnight to get up at 4am and go to the airport to make sure i was in time for my first flight to Amsterdam, then 4 hours to wait for my second flight to KIX, couldn't sleep at all during the flight... I just can't sleep while seating.) and a blister on my foot doesn't help either.

Anyway enough chit chat, here are some pictures I took around the Shukkeien. Which is a traditional Japanese garden that survived the atomic bombing.

I have uploaded all my pictures over at Flickr (my profile). Click the pictures for full size. nb: they're heavy.






















Here it is for today. Hope you enjoyed it.

I'll take a quiet life... A handshake of carbon monoxide.

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Silur

What do you hear about great SC4 Japanese sites today ?

dyoungyn

Oh boy your pictures soo make me miss my time in Japan.  I spent 14 years in that wonderful and beautiful country. 

My time there really opened up my eyes to a different way of living and learn to live without a lot and be so ever thankful for my simple possessions. 

The Japanese people are the friendliest and most kind people in all of Asia. 

If one spent the time to study the Japanese history, one will know that Japan has literally been around for thousands of years.   My wife and I also visited Kyota and Nara and was in awe the age of their temples, AD 1000 and beyond. 

eggman121

Glad you have been able to make it to Japan Arthur :thumbsup:

I wonder if you can take some photos of the rail infrastructure while you are over there?

Hope you enjoy your stay ;)

-eggman121 (Stephen)


art128

Hello again. Thank you for viewing the pictures. :)

Stephen, what kind of rail infrastructure you want? Well I can pretty much guess what use you will have of those photos..... :) :) ;)


Today the rain started to fall early afternoon so I couldn't finish what I had planned. Hopefully they forecast sunshine all day tomorrow so I will pick up where I left.

This morning i went to the Mazda museum, being a car enthusiast and wanting to own a miata and fc3s, it was only natural. I will upload these photos last as cars maybe aren't what people like. Also I take a habit to photograph any car I spot that I consider rare (as in I never see in the streets around Paris, so rare to me), again I will post these at the end.
I had one of the best lunch of my life, some Wakame Udon for 500yen. I've never had such good food for that low.
For the afternoon I wanted to walk around the peace memorial, but when I arrived rain started to come down a lot, so I had to abort and get on a tram home.

Here are some pictures:































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You can finish now if cars aren't your cup of tea.

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Nissan Stagea 260RS, one of my favorite station wagon.


Mazda R360. Mazda first passenger car, powered by a rear engine and rear wheel drive.


Mazda Chantez


Mazda RX3 Savanna GT


Mazda Cosmo Sport L10A/B


The Autozam AZ-1. One of the cutest little car ever created. It has gulf-wing doors.


Classic NA MX5 "Miata". Best selling roadster. I want one.


FB RX7, another classic.


FD3S RX7, one of the most beautiful car ever designed.


Mazda Cosmo JC


ND MX5 RF. Sat at the wheel, it felt pretty good. Leather seat was comfortable and the shifting was short, unlike my 206.


And to finish, the almighty 787B. Winner of Le Mans 1991, making it the first Japanese car to win Le Mans, and the only to date car using a Rotary Engine to do so. As a result of the butthurt of the FIA (as per usual), Rotary engines were banned the next year.



I hope you liked these pictures too!
Tomorrow I will be going to Itsukushima, the Peace Memorial again and the Castle.
I'll take a quiet life... A handshake of carbon monoxide.

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Alan_Waters

Excellent!
And I used to have a Mazda 323 BG. Very comfortable and reliable car. I would never change it if it were not for our Russian harsh climate.

fantozzi

#6
Thank you so much for those pictures. Very instructive. I never was in Japan. For some I could need some explanation/comment. What are those people with the umbrellas doing?

[EDIT]
Ah, okay - on Flickr you say: "peace memorial prayer".

art128

Hi Hi. A little late on the posting (It's already 9AM here) but I was tired yesterday and couldn't finish.


Yes the people around the cenotaph were singing prayers.


Yesterday it was sunshine alright. Maybe too much.  $%Grinno$% As I said I went to Miyajima to see the Itsukushima shrine, then finished the peace memorial (not a lot of picture opportunity there sadly since there was a lot of people, specially school groups) and then went to the Castle.

Inside the castle are exhibits about the life during the samurai etc. No pictures allowed inside though. Also you can climb all the way up the keep tower for a nice view. It's 7 high floors and there are no lifts.... :D


Let's start off with the Miyajima island and the Itsukushima shrine with its big red well known Torii floating on water.








































Some more pictues of the Peace Memorial









Memorial to the student mobilized after the bombing

Some pictures in the city







And finally the Castle. The original castle was completely destroyed as a result of the bombing, with the entire wooden structure collapsing and being blown away by the blast. It survived the fire by being not that close to the epicenter. It was rebuilt in wood during the 60s.











That's all for today! Now I'm off to Iwakuni and the Kintai bridge... Cya!
I'll take a quiet life... A handshake of carbon monoxide.

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art128

#8
No replies...  ()sad() ()sad()

Oh well I will proceed anyway.

So today I went to Iwakuni to see the kintai bridge and the castle.

The world famous Kintai Bridge with the castle in the background, up on the mountain.


A view of the bridge from the other side.


Iwakuni castle. Pretty little castle located in a very good position top of a mountain surrounded by the river.


The view from the top, spectacular.


Next pics are of some castles and shrines along the park between the bridge and the castle ropeway.
















Nishi-Iwakuni Station while waiting for the train to come.


A picture I forgot to post I took in some backalleys in Hiroshima.


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As for the car spots of the day, I stumbled upon these two while coming back from the bridge to the station through some back street. In two houses side by side.

Nissan Skyline R33 GTR


Nissan Skyline R34 GTT or GTR, hard to tell without the badge. My guess is GTT to drift it.



Hope you liked those again!
Today was my last day in Hiroshima. Sad to leave such a beautiful city but I have to move up the coast. Tomorrow I will check in Kure.
I'll take a quiet life... A handshake of carbon monoxide.

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Seaman

Thank you so much for sharing the pictures. I have a special relationship with Japan and looking at your images really makes me sentimental... (and checking my options to be there again :D).

romualdillo

Funny... I didn't know that bridge actually existed...  :-[ I hadn't seen any "real image" of it before. Well, I knew it had to exist somewhere, somewhen or somehow, but it was sort of an abstract idea of existence, not a "real" one. Thanks for sharing and revealing the entity of Kintai Bridge...  :D

vester

I really enjoy your pictures.

btw: So much envy. I would love to visit Japan.

Looks like you are enjoying Japan, as I knew you would.

art128

Oh that bridge is very real and also very old, built in 1673. It is such a beautiful architecture and engineering feast.

Arne, nothing to envy really. It probably wasn't the best idea financially to visit Japan but I was so tired of all the bullshit at work I just needed the vacation far away badly. (That or I would have done something really regrettable.)

Today I arrived in Kure. It's not a big  city like Hiroshima but it isn't my main destination. That's only where my hotel is located. Otherwise, my goal is Takehara located some 50km away... Sadly all the hotels there were booked or way too expensive. (not paying 300 euros for a night lol, that's what I'm spending in total for hostels.... :D )
Still the city got its charm alright. And well there were still a few things I wanted to see here. You see the date i chose to visit Takehara is the date of the Bamboo Light Festival which happens as well in my absolute favorite anime Tamayura... I wanted to do kind of a pilgrimage to see the main sights that happen during the anime. Kure has a few spots in the anime as well.

The big propeller of the Yamato Battleship



























That's it for today. Thanks again for viewing the pictures!
I'll take a quiet life... A handshake of carbon monoxide.

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Alan_Waters

Great report!  :thumbsup:
How I wanted to go there too ... &ops

mattb325

Thankyou for posting these pictures. I have many fond memories of travels in Japan. I don't think I've ever experienced a more friendly people and everything is so stunning and a true visual feast! The kintai bridge looks brilliant  :thumbsup:

AsimPika3172

Beautiful Japan cities, lanscapes, buildings, power lines etc... Keep posting anything about Japan!  :thumbsup:
I loves Sim City forever!

art128

Thanks for the comments, views and likes.

It's never too late Alan, specially now that plane tickets are getting cheaper.
I bought my flight 3 weeks in advance (That's pretty late) and got it for 750 euros wth KLM from CDG to KIX. Sure I had a 4h stop at Amsterdam, but still pretty good.

Japanese people really are very polite. It is part of their society and I believe is what stands them apart from other people on earth.


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Yesterday I went to see what I wanted to the most. The Takehara Bamboo light festival. It is featured heavily in the anime Tamayura so ever since I have seen that anime I wanted to go there.
The reality i that it's crowded. But it's still nice!

For two nights around the end of October (this year was 27-28) they crave bamboos and put candles in them and lay them all around the historical district of the city. It gives for some very nice views of the streets and temples.


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The anime being based in this small town, it obviously is plastered everywhere... Not that I mind of course, I like it.


Statue of Momoneko... Some kind of cat divinity? It also is featured a lot in Tamayura.


The old Hinomaru photo studio.... Featured in the anime as well.


The old district


Stairs to Saihoji Temple


View from the same stairs


...Same Temple...


Shogunji Temple. This temple and its view is featured a lot in Tamayura too, being one of the main spot the characters hang out. I didn't go further in because I would have had to remove my shoes and there were also a LOT of nasty (though harmless) spiders.


Folk Culture museum.


Shoren-ji Temple


Some small alley prepared for the festival..


Old street. This was taken around the corner of the restaurant Horikawa, which serves very tasty Okonomiyaki. It is also featured massively in the anime Tamayura. Because of that the price are a bit high compared to the other Okonomiyaki I ate in Hiroshima. (1250yen, which is still about half of what it would cost in Paris.) The queue was long, very long. I waited 1h45 before I could eat. :D (It was worth it though)


























Going back to the station..


Along the way are several signs attached to the arcades showing the different characters from the Anime. This is the main charachter Fuu-chan


Kao-tan





BONUS: Massive panorama of the city taken from Shogunji Temple.



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Car spot of the day, Nissan Silvia S15 Itasha style.




Hope you liked today's picture as well!

I don't think I will take any pictures today. I'm tired. I've been walking km non stop since I arrived a week ago. And I pretty much saw all there is to see in Kure anyway.
Tomorrow I move briefly to Onomichi during the day, and then make my way to Kurashiki for the evening and night. The following morning I move up to Osaka.
I'll take a quiet life... A handshake of carbon monoxide.

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art128

#17
No comments.  >:( :D Thanks for the views and likes!

Today I stopped at Onomichi. It's a coastal industrial town spread between the mainland and a large island, between mountains... (wait doesn't that describe basically every Japanese city on the coast??! :D JK )


First, two pictures I took in Kure yesterday before leaving.




Now onto Onomichi

View of the castle from outside the train station.


Inside the covered shopping street.














Some Showa-era robot statue in front of a old-game store.










Now we will be going up this old ropeway.


Onomichi castle and the many islands of the Seto inland sea as background.


While going down the mountain I came across these two rusting old Honda


























BONUS, Two panoramas of Onomichi seen from the top of the mountain.





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Today's car spot: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV




That's it for today! Tomorrow I make my way to Japan second largest city: Osaka.
I'll take a quiet life... A handshake of carbon monoxide.

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Alan_Waters

Thank! Very informative and beautiful! A delightful country, a delightful culture!  :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

noahclem

Thanks for the awesome pics man!!! Must be a hell of a trip, so happy for you being able to make it there  :bnn: