Japan Photos 2025

[johnnyG]

We leave the bathroom light on 24/7, which means in the summer there are some bugs on the outside of the window.

And this little creature, taking advantage of the situation:

 

[johnnyG]

I noticed this place on the way downtown this morning, stopped for pics on the way back. Mega production:

 

[thomas]

Nice! What's that in the top picture?

 

[johnnyG]

Nice! What's that in the top picture?

Purple stuff is shisho no ha (when still wet); after drying and then crumbled/powdered, shiso no ko (shiso ko?).

Short walk this morning, 5k steps, drenched by the time I got back. It started off cloudy (nice), but then cleared off after ~20min. First two shots from the walk, neither very interesting, third is this month's less colorful arrangement at a jinja that I've posted before.

 

[johnnyG]

Flowers are from a different shrine, matsuri time, and more rope...

 

[thomas]

It hasn't dried up yet: Tamagawa vistas this morning, when the mercury had already hit 34 degrees.

 

[johnnyG]

Today:

eggplant (heh)

one more for my peeping tom series

 

[johnnyG]

Elsewhere, someone asked, what's that green ball?

ホウキギ（箒木）"broom plant" (since once used as that). It stays small, usually in a line/row as edging/border, or small cluster, turns red in the fall. That one seemed unusual all alone like that.

 

[thomas]

What is that four-storied wooden building? A private residence? Quite an unusual building!

 

[johnnyG]

What is that four-storied wooden building? A private residence? Quite an unusual building!

Here it is on google maps, which should be enough info. I've shot and posted pics before of the other side-- the entrance/front of it, but this is the first time I've tried the back (and the narrow road that it fronts on heads back away from the river into Teramachi, a zillion temples, along with the present site of Ninja -tera). My shot is from across the river, and I went up an open/external staircase to get up higher, to the same level/elevation. Swing that view to the left to look across the river. The place could be in a Ghibli movie.

Too bad about that one pole in the way. The pole itself could be edited out, but on the original the lines from the pole running both ways the whole width of the building (and also to either side) would be hard, and then there also are reflections of the wires in some of the windows, too (mixd with other reflections of stuff from the other side of the river (like where I'm shooting from).

Since I went up the stairs, my shot is trivially better than most , which show an upwards angle from street level.

The address there is 蛤町 (hamaguri-), = clam, supposedly descriptive of the area. The old 北国街道 didn't go down the street that this place fronts on, but passed by a stone's throw away.

 

[johnnyG]

In other news, we're getting LOTS of rain--flood warnings, people in some areas advised to evacuate, etc.

edit: our phones went off, wife wants to leave, I don't...

 

[thomas]

Insect drama: the cicada was still singing while being devoured by the kamakiri (カマキリ, praying mantis). In kanji: 蟷螂 or 鎌切.

 

[johnnyG]

I braved the heat this morning.

 

[thomas]

Lately, I haven't had many opportunities to take fancy pictures. Here's one I took yesterday on the Odakyu Line.

 

[johnnyG]

Not much these days... But I noticed the 'monsters' in the windows, and then someone happened to walk by.

 

[mdchachi]

Interesting doorway (also check out the "writing" that looks like braille on the wall to the right).

 

[musicisgood]

It hasn't dried up yet: Tamagawa vistas this morning, when the mercury had already hit 34 degrees.

View attachment 131006

View attachment 131007​

Any fish in that river?

 

[thomas]

Any fish in that river?

Yes, ayu (sweetfish). They migrate upstream to spawn. According to a recent documentary, there is an increasing number of non-indigenous species, too.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/4030008/

 

[musicisgood]

Yeah those fish are so delicious we have them in Hiroshima too and right now it's . It's that season but I think the actually catching them is been over for a little while but I have to check on that the bridge that is real famous in Hiroshima that's where a lot of the fish are being caught.

 

[johnnyG]

ka-boom...

 

[musicisgood]

It's hot today.

 

[thomas]

Autumn harbinger.

 

[johnnyG]

Today's variety pack:

 

[thomas]

Brilliant, @johnnyG!!

 

[johnnyG]

So anyone will know, the dogs in that last shot are not real, but they are so realistically done--that they could be.

The bamboo shot is not something that I've done before.