Fooling Around

I got to spend some time exploring Maebaru this weekend (despite the bitterly cold weather) and testing my new camera. チッカパ好き〜




Anybody want to guess what the above photo is? And in case you were wondering about the previous "What am I" photo; yep, Catherine, you got it right. :)


***BEGIN INTERMISSION***


"Hey, I'm thirsty.. what should we drink?"

"I don't know, you decide!"


"AHH~ That hit the spot!"

***END INTERMISSION***


The train station near my office. Those bikes aren't lost -- that's a bike parking lot.


I am easily persuaded.


Korean chopsticks. Yes, there is a difference between Chinese, Japanese and Korean chopsticks (for those wondering).

"Women: Birth-giving Machines"

I couldn't make this up even if I wanted to. In another apparent political blunder, the Health Minister of Japan referred to women as "birth-giving machines" and said that they should, ".. try to do their best per head (to increase the birthrate)." You can read the full article HERE.

Photo Update

Just some of my favourite photos from my vacation.


I had to wait some time for the water to stop moving to get this shot; even then, it still didn't turn out the way I hoped.


Slippery clouds.


I applied the B&W effect to reduce the glare from the sun.


If you think this picture looks a little bit off -- you're right. This isn't a photo of the park, it is the photo of the pond in the park.


Look at the tourist! :)


I took this photo from the courtyard in Alcatraz.


Locked up.


Swaaaaa-y.


No comment on this one.. except this comment.


This is the exact same photo of my previous Seattle picture but using a different setting on my camera. This photo reminds me of a certain video-game for some reason -- some car racing one that I used to play on Atari. Night Rider, perhaps?


Again, another photo of a previous photo. The B&W-effect gives it a different feel, eh?


Delicious pumpkins!


Another one of those sky-and-building contrast shots.

San Francisco / サンフランシスコ

.. continued from the Seattle post:

After spending just one day in Seattle, my friend and I drove, for 12 hours (15 hours including breaks) to sunny California. Originally, we had planned to only explore Vancouver and Seattle. However, we soon realized that we had almost a full 2-weeks of vacation and that, since we were on the West Coast, it would be wise to visit one of the United States' most interesting and unique cities. The above picture was taken during our long, and at times arduous, drive through the antithesis of California -- Oregon. Yup, that picture pretty much covers it.


One of the world's most famous man-made structures: The Golden Gate Bridge. Our itinerary while in San Francisco was hectic. There was a lot to see in San Francisco and at times I was beginning to question the wisdom of trying to see so many attractions -- but we persevered and, well, that's how I have so many photos to share!


A fairly large church near our hotel. This photo is for my friend Jeremy who is currently studying Theology/Eastern Orthodox Christianity in New York. Congratulations again on the aka-chan.


San Francisco definitely ranks as one of the most structurally-aesthetically (does that even make sense?) interesting cities in the United States. All the houses, buildings, except those in the financial district (and, oddly-enough, Japan Town), were of the similar Victorian-era, bay-window style. In addition, everything is built on an angle which made walking around treacherous.


These outdoor fire-alarms were everywhere in the city. I guess they are a layover from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire. I wonder if they still work...


Lombard Street: The World's "Crookedest" Street.


These cable-cars were cool. My friend kept calling them "ding-dings" because they reminded him of Hong Kong's famous double-decker street cars. Standing on the edge while riding these things takes some courage, I tell ya!


Another purpose of visiting San Francisco was to check out a big, American-style New Year's Eve street party. We managed to find out where the major fireworks and festivities were going to take place and headed there to usher in the new year.

After the initial fireworks went off, chaos ensued. People started smashing cars and bottles, minor scuffles broke out and the atmosphere turned a little tense. We stayed for about 15 minutes after midnight to observe the mayhem but decided to leave before the riot squad arrived. The above photo shows some party-goers on the news; no, I mean literally -on- the news -- as in they jumped on top of the news vans to cheer and dance but then they started smashing the camera, windows, satellite dish, etc. Next year, I'm just going to stay home.


The weather was fairly co-operative for most of the trip. I showed this picture to my students and they couldn't figure out how I took the shot. They asked if I was in a helicopter because they mistook the fog for clouds. They kept calling me: "Kami-sama, Kami-sama!" lol.


Me being an idiot. I actually was posing for this shot to make it -look- like I was falling when I slipped and almost fell threw the hole. Idiot!


The famous Alcatraz island-prison. The prison is no longer in use but it still is a pretty eerie place. There was a night-tour as well but, alas, we didn't have enough time to stay that late


A photo of the San Francisco skyline from Treasure Island (no, I'm not making that name up).


San Francisco not only has the world's largest Chinatown, but also its very own Japan Town. All the street names in nihon-machi were in both English and Japanese.


Apparently this is one of the most photographed areas in the entire United States -- let alone in San Francisco city. What can I say? I was reminded of the 80's hit TV show "Full House" quite often while in San Francisco. They also play the re-runs on NHK here in Japan. Strange.

All in all, it was quite the trip. We left San Francisco at 7 in the morning and drove all the way back to Vancouver almost non-stop; we arrived back at the condo just before 12 a.m. the same day. If you thought reading this blog post was long just imagine how it felt in the car!

Happy weekend.

In other news..

Well, I finally did it. I've given up my compact point-and-shoot camera for something a little bit more fun to play with. Initially I was hesitant to make such a big purchase (this -is- just a hobby after all) but after giving away my Sony, I was left with no other recourse. :) I will be getting the Nikon D80 in about a week. The best part about purchasing it online in Japan: I get to pay for it at a convenience store!

Seattle / シアトル

Continuing my journey exploring the Great North American West Coast, my friend and I drove about 3 hours to Seattle. Seattle is an interesting place and, if I did more research, could have probably found more than 3 points-of-interest.. Nah, I doubt it.


1st Stop: Farmer's Public Market. This place was busy. A shopping complex with a hodgepodge of all sorts of crap. From vintage movie posters, rustic restaurants and bars, to fresh, organic produce for sale, this place had everything. Including..


Yup, the highlight of Seattle. In fact, I think Starbucks put Seattle on the map. Most religious people do some sort of holy pilgrimage to a sacred place once in their lifetime. Well, this is my tribute to post-modern consumerism. Heck, I even brought back tacky souvenirs.


Crabs for sale at the Public Market.


For my Japanese readers: Yep, he's everywhere.


Seattle @ night. Awesome, eh? I think out of all the cities I've visited in the past year-or-so, Seattle ranks as one of my favourite "night-time photo" places (after Hong Kong and Tokyo, of course). The view from the Seattle Space Needle isn't half as spectacular as the view from across the harbour. Too bad my camera (and its faulty user) is absolutely atrocious at taking night-time shots. Thankfully I'll be upgrading soon -- but that's for a post onto itself. :)

Vancouver / バンクーバー

After spending nearly 2 weeks in Toronto, I was on an aeroplane again to enjoy the rest of my vacation. My first city: Vancouver. Located on the Western edge of Canada, Vancouver was ranked the "Best Place to Live" by the Economist Intelligence Unit (a London-based think-tank) in 2005 (and will probably top the list again in 2006).


It was my first visit to Vancouver and my impressions of it are mostly positive. The air is clean; temperature is mild; housing tends to be more modern; and the view/skyline is spectacular. It was my first time seeing the "Rocky Mountains" (okay, okay, I'll be honest -- apparently the mountains visible from Vancouver are the "Coastal Mountains".. *shrugs*), North American totem poles and Starbucks-toting yuppies on every street corner.


For those of you that know him, I also met up with Skip and he showed me around the city for a little bit. He's fairly busy with school nowadays and, apparently, he helps run a Vancouver city "Ghost Tour" (does that surprise any of you?). Thanks again for everything Skip -- be sure to visit Toronto sometime!


There was one thing that consistently bothered me about the three West Coast cities I visited while on vacation: the sheer number of -aggressive- homeless people. Maybe I've just been in Japan too long (there -are- homeless people here too -- they just aren't in your face all the time) but I couldn't help but feeling that I was on the verge of being mugged (Long-story-short: I accidentally stumbled onto "Crack Corner" while in Vancouver). That being said, nothing really happened except the occasional verbal scuffle.


Downtown Vancouver @ Night.


I also visited Stanley Park -- one of North America's largest city-parks. As luck would have it, a violent blizzard hit Vancouver a few weeks prior to my arrival and it completely ravaged many parts of Vancouver -- including the park. Clean-up of the entire park is supposed to take approximately a year; however, it will take generations for many of the trees to grow back and the park to be restored to its original state.


Canadian Geese: Not as Good as Turkey!


Some semi-authentic totem-poles in Stanley Park.

All in all, I had a fairly good time in Vancouver. I could see myself living there for a year or so as there are many aspects of Vancouver I find particularly appealing; who knows, I may end up there someday. Until then, stay tuned for Seattle!