Shibuya246 » outdoors

Painting in Yamashita Koen

shibuya246 — Sat, 01 May 2010 10:11:16 +0000

A great place to get set up and paint for the day.

I took a walk around Yamashita Koen in Yokohama today after having lunch at Chinatown. The park was teeming with people enjoying the start of Golden Week and the good weather. This gentleman was painting the scenery in the midst of it all.

Sakura Rain

shibuya246 — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 09:59:02 +0000

Looking down the park, the sakura color was really nice in the light rain.

With the rain in Tokyo coming after such a warm day yesterday, the Sakura trees were having a hard time figure out whether to bloom or fall. It looks like this coming weekend may see the start of some nice sakura fubuki shots.

This was a reflected image off the ground.

The sakura looked really cold out in the rain, with the Sony HQ building here as a backdrop.

A few sakura petals get washed away in the rain.

Sakura Fubuki

さ

Sa
く

ku
ら

ra
ふ

Fu
ぶ

bu
き

ki

Sakura Season

shibuya246 — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 14:45:30 +0000

Ueno Park, Sakura Japan

I went out to Ueno Park today to see the Sakura, which are at full bloom. As expected it was crowded with people enjoying the fine weather. There were many groups camped under the trees eating and drinking, with many more walking down the pathway taking photos.

I have a full set of photos I will put up tomorrow. I still haven’t chosen which ones to display. Taking the photos is not the hard part. Choosing which ones get shown and which ones don’t make the cut is the hardest. Need some editorial assistance maybe ^^. I have the Sakura shots down to 74 from the original 400, so will try and pick a final 35 for tomorrow to post.

It was my birthday today, so here is a birthday Sakura shot until I put the rest up tomorrow.

Ueno Park, Sakura Hanami

Sakura Bento Lunch

shibuya246 — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 12:18:57 +0000

Great place for a bento lunch under the Sakura tree.

April 1st every year is the start of a new financial year for most Japanese companies. Newly hired employees normally start work on this day, and you can see them out and about in their new suits trying to blend in with everyone. With the Sakura out and the weather becoming warmer, April 1st always has a great feel of fresh and new.

Here are some “Sakura Bento” shots from the park near my house.

Looks like 3 happy salarymen here enjoying the fine weather with their bento lunches.

It was quite windy today, but the sunshine was out. The Sakura trees were blooming and people were enjoying bento lunches in the park.

I didn't have a bento lunch in the park, but here is my sakura packaged bento from wako for dinner.

Sakura Bento Kanji

桜

Sakura
弁

Ben
当

to

Did you do anything special for April 1st?

Japan Birds

shibuya246 — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 16:50:59 +0000

This beautiful bird greeted me first thing on New Years Day.

It has been a busy day making some changes on the Site. I have photos to upload from my walk around Takanawa and visit to a shrine for New Years, but have not had a break from coding yet.

I realized also I wanted to share with you a few pictures of this great New Year Days present that awaited me at the bottom of my apartment when I went out for a walk yesterday.

The bird had obviously been injured by something. It was bleeding a little. I didn't want to touch it in case I scared it.

There were crows circling, so I hung around for about half an hour while the bird recovered its strength.

The bird was so tiny and the crows so big, it seemed a shame to let them close in.

Just catching its breath before trying to fly away again.

I think it is looking up to see the crows.

Lots of people walked by and took photos, but nobody seemed to know what to do about the inured bird.

It seemed lucky to see this bird on New Years. Although I live in the city there is always lots of beautiful nature around to look at and enjoy. I hope the bird recovers and also has a great 2010. Happy New Year to you all.

I added a touch of color to this photo to highlight the bird.

Site Updates, Changes

I am finishing off the code for writing comments directly on the photos. This is working now already on the Site, but I have some more changes coming to make it work smoother.

You will soon also be able to login with Twitter. For existing users, you can LINK your Twitter account to the existing one and then use either for login. I am still working on the new user registration code for this and should complete soon. If you want to try linking your Twitter account, go to your profile page, (log in normally, click on your avatar at the top right of the Site near your name), then click EDIT. Half-way down the page you will see a Twitter button. If you click that and hit “Agree” on the Twitter Site then everything should be complete. The next time you come to shibuya246 you should be able to find the button link for signing in with your Twitter account instead of having to type your username and password.

Other changes include adding an EDIT button to the comments. This was a suggestion by lithiumangel. If you have any other suggestions let me know.

I want to keep the Site current in content and also in the presentation. Having a blog Site it is nice to be able to share ideas with you all as to what features you want in the Site and also what sort of content you like to see more of. Keep the ideas rolling and I will try and cover as many topics as I can.

Japan Park Dance

shibuya246 — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 12:05:02 +0000

02 looking ready to rock and roll.

I came across their dance scene in Yoyogi Park when out for a walk on New Years Day. It looked like they were making some sort of cosplay dance movie or maybe rehearsing for one.

The rhythm beat was quite catchy. My niece who was with me starting dancing to the music and got most of their moves down quickly.

The group at the front seemed the best rehearsed. Not sure if the guys at the back forgot their costumes or just joined in when seeing it.

That looks like a Rilakkuma suit.

Lots of different moves to remember.

Many different costumes, all dancing to the same beat.

Another person waiting for the right timing to jump into the lineup.

More people in costumes here. Looks like they had plenty of participants.

You can see the camera they have set up to tape the scene.

The film crew watching from a distance having set a camera up to record the action.

My niece dancing in Yoyogi Park, New Years Day, imitating the cosplay dancers nearby.

Getting into the dance rhythm in Yoyogi Park for New Year

Dance till you drop.

It would be great to see them perform this dance on the Shibuya Scramble Crossing one day. Sort of an impromptu performance like the ones below.

or you could go solo as the Dancing Stormtrooper aka Danny Choo does

Would you be keen to do a dance in the middle of Shibuya Scramble Crossing?

Shinagawa Birds

shibuya246 — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:09:32 +0000

These birds were swarming around in a group over the canal. Looks like they might have found something to eat?

I spotted these birds moving in a group around the canals in Shinagawa. Looks like they were either trying to drink some beer at the local Brewery, or they had found something in the water below. What do you think was down there?

The gray building behind looks like it has been painted a speckled color

I haven't visited the T.Y. Harbor Brewery before, but maybe they serve some really good fish down there. Must go and try it.

Anyone know what type of birds these are? What do you think was in the water?

[mappress]

Rainbow Bridge at Night

shibuya246 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:36:28 +0000

Rainbow Bridge at night from Odaiba

The Rainbow Bridge can be a great sight at night looking from Odaiba back towards the skyline of Tokyo.

Cloud Patterns

shibuya246 — Thu, 21 May 2009 14:30:38 +0000

I played golf today in Chiba and will be posting tomorrow details of the day which included a detour to the back of a police wagon for my friend after doing a bit of speeding on what we thought was a highway road. I managed to catch some nice shots of the “booking” before being told no photos were allowed. Good job they didn’t confiscate the camera.

There is more to the above story and I have to get the photos organized, so until tomorrow, here is a look at some great cloud pattern shots I took while on the course.

streaky white lines through the sky

wispy white mixed in with a blue sky

Nice whites

I played with the photoshop settings and got this interesting result

Not so many clouds here, but I promised my friend I would get a good action shot of his golf. (this is prior to the meeting with the police)

Clouds in the city
Another friend sent me some photos yesterday near their house also showing some strange cloud patterns.

Earthquake clouds
In Japan, strange cloud patterns are sometimes said to be a forewarning to natural disasters such as earthquakes. On the 地震情報サイト (earthquake information website, JIS), they explain what to look for.

Here are some images from Google for clouds, (not all earthquake clouds)

Normally, the clouds are more of a solid mass which appear in the same place for an extended period of time prior, and are different to 飛行機雲 airplane clouds, that are easily blown or shaped in the wind. They normally appear just before or upto 2 weeks prior to an earthquake.

They do state that there can be many reasons for these cloud formations, and that earthquakes are just one possibility. I doubt the clouds in the photo are earthquake clouds, but it is interesting to note the discussion of cloud patterns.

JIS website diagram
This diagram from the JIS website shows some different types of cloud patterns.

diagram from the JIS website showing cloud patterns

There are explanations of the different types of earthquake, for example the one on the left shows a possible sign of 断層形地震 fault line earthquake, with the cloud direction span indicating the line of the fault.

More golf
The photos here are no doubt just wispy white clouds enjoying the beautiful blue skies we have had recently, but just to confirm whether the clouds are still in the same place next week, I have another game of golf orgainized.

Get ready to tee it up

Tomorrow, I will get the photos together for the story about the drive home from golf involving an unexpected visit to the back of a police van, a near run in with a truck full of pigs and almost being involved in a four car smash on the highway. In amongst that we shot some video of the drive over the Rainbow Bridge.

If the golf was not excitement enough, it really was a wild ride on the way home!

Outdoor Live Jazz

shibuya246 — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 08:11:52 +0000

I was walking up the hill at Sakuragaoka-cho when I came across this live jazz festival under the Sakura trees.

Tokyo Galaxy Jazz Orchestra

A concert under the Sakura feeling

Of course a Sakura festival is nothing without some treats to go with it.

Dishing up the treats!

and treats are nothing without some free sake

There were more than a few takers for these

I managed to take a quick video of one song. They were pretty good!

Plenty of onlookers enjoying the Shibuya atmosphere on this side of the station. It is very different to the Hachiko side where you have Center-gai or the Miyamasu-zaka side (宮益坂). Much quieter and laid back.

The crowd

The mochi was hand made on the spot. Here are the guys and girl putting their backs into the work of making mochi for everyone.

Mochi in the making

Of course the Sakura were in full bloom providing everyone with a great excuse to come out and see what was going on. Everyone seemed in a good mood with the Sakura out. Maybe pink is a soothing color.

Sakura at Sakuragaoka-cho

A good concert with some nice people from Shibuya. Sakura season is fun.

Sakura in Sakuragaoka-cho

shibuya246 — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 08:22:09 +0000

Sakura coming out slowly this year - Sakuragaoka-cho

With the cold weather, the Sakura have taken a while to come out. Most years we tend to have one day which is really warm and the Sakura bloom quickly only to be washed away a few days later by the rain. This year, we haven’t had a really warm day yet.

This is a street in Sakuragaoka-cho, Shibuya (渋谷区桜丘町), aptly named Sakura Hill. I took a photo the other day to compare the difference between pre-Sakura and blooming Sakura. Here is the photo from the other day. (Compare to the photo above)

Sakuragaoka-cho before the Sakura bloom

There are many festivals on at this time of the year and the local community work to light up the Sakura at night and plan events.

Sakura Matsuri

Sakura by night

Sakura on its way!

shibuya246 — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 07:53:02 +0000

The Sakura was so small here, the camera didn't even catch the focus

The prediction for Sakura to arrive in Tokyo this year was the 22 or 23rd of March. With the weather forecast for rain tomorrow, it looks like Monday 23 should be the best time for the Sakura to come out, at least in Shibuya. I took the above picture today on a hill known as Sakuragaoka-cho (桜丘町). There were only a very few buds that had opened and if it rains tomorrow they would be better off to stay closed until Monday.

The weather forecast looks semi-ok. The expected rain on Wednesday should not be enough to wash away the Sakura that come out on Monday, and by Thursday, Friday, Saturday with the good weather hopefully we should see lots of pink everywhere.

Weather forecast by Yahoo for Tokyo area

Here is a picture of the hill from the bottom. I will post another picture when the Sakura are out so you can see the difference. It is very different when the Sakura are out.

Waiting for the Sakura to blossom