After the Rain

Usually it stops raining at night and we wake up to a nice day. Sometimes, on rarer occasions it will stop raining during the day and we'll witness a beautiful transformation that only Mother nature can do.

The rain stopped around 11:00 am and the skies started to clear, grey replaced with blue; clouds that looked like they were painted on a canvas with a brush.

Everything was purified by the rain and looks clean.

It's a beautiful day for a walk.

Today I'm shooting with a Voigtlander 50mm f1.1 lens on my Sony A7II camera. I can't help but play around with shallow depth of field.

Waiting to cross the road.

Now that the rain has stopped the hip-hop dance contest can begin. The traffic crossing safety guard is getting ready to bust a move.

They look more like ballerinas than hip-hop dancers.

This is more like it.

This too!

I'll leave the dancing to the young and move on toward Yokohama Park.

The green, green moss of home

An unexpected surprise near China Town. The sunflower shakes off the rain drops and faces the sun.

Gold dragons greet us at the entrance to china town.

The signs of autumn are everywhere.

The 50mm f1,1 lens can transform a mundane back ally in Motomachi into a scene from a ramantic movie.

A total stranger becomes the main character; looking for love in Motomachi.

My long lost cub scout shirt turns up in a recycle shop.

Everything is out of focus, as it was meant to be. A Tommy Oshima technique that I hope to become more proficient at.

Only in Japan!

I continue to marvel at the clouds in the ski...

...as well as the people under them. A closer look at the people in the previous picture. Selfie nation!

Suitable for framing.

Yamashita Park - Reflections in a rain puddle

Mother and child

Postcards from Minato Mirai.

Last shot before calling it a day - and, it was such a great after the rain day!

Thanks for stopping by!
Mike

Destination - Mt. Nokogiri!

It was a holiday last Wednesday... what to do? Well, we decided to take the Tokyo Wan Ferry across the bay to Kanaya port on the Bosso peninsula in Chiba prefecture and explore Mt. Nokogiri.

It's only about a 10 minute walk from the ferry landing in Kanaya to the Mt. Nokogiri rope way station.

All aboard the gondola and underway. The station attendant sees us off.

The gondola rapidly ascends up toward the mountain top.

Soon we we're gazing out over the bay we had just crossed and at a descending gondola.

On top of Mt. Nokogiri the view is spectacular.  Looking south down the coast of the Bosso peninsula.

And, looking down at Kanaya port and across the bay at Miura peninsula.

Emi poses by the sign marking the peak of the mountain.

After paying 600 yen each to enter the temple grounds on top of the mountain we climbed a whole lot of stone steps to reach the Jusshu Ichiran Observatory.

Then, we ventured along the stone covered path to discover...

 ...this enormous Buddha  carved out of the side of the mountain.

Next up we wondered over to the Ruriko Observatory. I called this the scary place because I'm a little bit afraid of heights.

Plenty of breath taking views up here.

Working our way down a lot more stone steps we passed by a bunch of small stone statues. No two are alike.

According to the brochure there are 1,500 of these statues around here. I didn't count them.

And then, we reached the largest stone figure of Buddha in Japan!

Again, according to the brochure this has a gross height of 31.5 meters. Twice as big as the big bronze Daibutsu in Kamakura.

It was time for a coffee break and a pee restroom break. There were several covered picnic tables nearby and we choose one with this spectacular view. We had packed a couple of thermoses filled with home brewed Colombian coffee - perfect! While not shown, take my word for it; the restrooms would earn a 5-star rating - they were pristine clean!  

A last look at the big guy and off we were heading back to the rope way.

Down we go! By-the-way, I gotta say, my legs were sore. One cannot believe how may steps there are going up, down, and all around the mountain top temple grounds. We had walked around for about 2 hours to see the sights. If one plans to follow in my footsteps, be prepared! It's a workout!  

After eating a meal at the ferry terminal we boarded the ferry to return to Kurihama. This is one of the entrances from the weather deck to the passengers seating area.

The Tokyo wan ferries are really nice. Quite plush and comfortable.

Underway - heading out to sea!

Gone are the blue skies from earlier in the day. The trip across the bay takes about 40 minutes.

Entering the port of Kurihama.

Making our approach to the ferry landing. This reminds me of my younger days when I was in the Navy.

With the ferry properly moored we departed the vessel via the covered gangway.

The motor vehicles conveniently drive out the bow of the ferry.

We're back on dry land. Mission accomplished! Time to celebrate!

That's right! After all that hiking around and time at sea, nothing tastes better than a cold bottle of Kirin lager beer.

And, a highball for Emi...cheers!

We were filled with a joyful feeling of accomplishment after all the day's events, however, I don't think anyone else in the bar noticed.

Thanks for stopping by!
Mike