One week to go, Japan is in sight…

Well, in 8 days I’ll be boarding my flight to Japan. This will be my longest solo venture since I drove across a big chunk of the US back in 2003 (you can see my blog entries from back then in Nerdtour 2003, if I did the pages right).

I’m a little anxious about it, as usual, but also I’m looking forward to it, I’ll be checking a lot of things off my bucket list, at least the international one. I have a lot of things left to see in the US, which I’ll start on once I get back. Well, after resting up and letting my bank account cool off for a while!

Nerdtour 2016: Naritasan!

_MG_7989Okay, this is going to be a short one, although today was eventful and productive, I’m about out of energy for the day, and the bed in my new hotel room in Tsukiji is inviting.

I checked out of the hotel in Narita early this morning, and after a very small breakfast at Mr Donut down the road, I set off to find the Naritasan Temple complex and “Peace Park”. When I got there I was disappointed to find that my camera had gotten damaged sometime earlier, not sure where during the trip. Somehow a couple of camera batteries had slipped down beneath the camera, and the live-view screen got cracked when the camera bag was set down or banged around on one of the flights. Fortunately the camera still works fine, the part that cracked was a protective screen to help keep the body of the camera waterproof. It will still need to be fixed though.

At any rate, I managed to get quite a few nice pictures of the temple, including a few of the first cherry trees blooming in Narita. The season just started, and they won’t be in full bloom in Narita until I’m ready to leave. I will be staying the night at Narita before I leave, so I might just get a chance.

After I saw the temple and park grounds, I grabbed lunch at a small shop that was serving barbecued eel, unagi. I had never had it before, but it was good, especially since I was hungry!

Finally I got my suitcase from the hotel and set off by train to the hotel in Tsukiji, not far from the famous fish market. The room is the smallest I’ve had of all the hotels I’ve stayed at, it’s so small I have to step outside to change my mind!

At any rate, here are a few pictures from Narita. Enjoy!

Nerdtour Japan 2016: Once More With Sakura!

Sakura by moonlightSo, once again I prepare to depart for the Land of the Rising Sun, where the cherry blossoms (sakura) are in bloom!  This will be a relatively short trip, only two weeks, but the goal is to take as many pictures of cherry trees in bloom in as many iconic Japanese places as possible, given the short time they bloom.  Plus since the Tidal Basin here in DC is full of cherry trees from Japan that are now also in bloom, I hope to take pictures of them before go, too!

Blogging may be spotty, but I’ll try to at least post something each day.

The Nerdtour 2016 starts Sunday, March 27!

Ikimonogakari, a nice J-Rock band

Doing my usual late-night Youtube surfing, I came across several videos featuring a Japanese light-rock band named “Ikimonogakari.” The first song I heard was a live version of one of their songs, “Kaze ga fuite iru” (風が吹いている, “Wind is Blowing”), which opened with the lead singer spotlighted, and the members of the band joining in, before going into a full stage performance. The style of music was very light rock, kind of late-60’s or early 70’s pop, but the lead singer, Kiyoe Yoshioka, really brought a lot of energy and heart into the song. Her voice and range was so impressive I had to look for more performances by them.

This one that I found is a perfect example song for the band, which is really only the three, Yoshiki Mizuno on bass and Hotaka Yamashita on guitar and harmonica. THe song is “Sakura”, their first single, and even though this version goes into full orchestral mode, the beginning with only the three in the spotlight really shows their ability, especially Yoshioka-san’s impressive vocal range. I’ll be keeping an eye out for their CDs whenever I can!

楽しんで、ください!
(Enjoy!)


Update:

Thank you Sony Entertainment, for blocking this video from being shown in the US. (tch)

DC Sakura Matsuri 2013 – Matsuri!

Well, after walking and walking and walking, I made it to the end of the parade route, where I was able to finally cross Constitution Avenue to the side where the matsuri was taking place. Then it was another 4 block or so walk to get to the nearest entrance to the matsuri, where I stopped to rest for a few minutes. I decided to pace myself after looking in on the huge crowds of people milling about (or trying to!) inside the matsuri fence, because there would be no sitting inside! I managed to spend about 4 hours there, got to see some interesting booths, inflicted my Japanese on some poor folks, and basically had fun. I saw a very high-energy J-Pop band called “M’sh”, and watched some friends perform in a cosplay “fashion show”. After that was over I decided it was time to start the long walk back to my car in the Potomac Park, so I headed back to the Tidal Basin, taking a few more photos along the way. I did stop at the Jefferson Memorial to buy a soft drink and take another short rest, but since I was so close to the car I figured it would be better to keep going. Finally I got to my car at about 5 PM, after starting at 8:30, drove home, unloaded my SD card, and promptly went to sleep!

So, one week later I managed to upload some more photos here! As always, click to see the full-size photo!

Enjoy!

There were a few people at the matsuri...
There were a few people at the matsuri…

... just a few...
… just a few…

... thousand...
… thousand…

_MG_6536

And you thought DC *traffic* gridlock was bad...
And you thought DC *traffic* gridlock was bad…

Dancers performing a traditional Hokkaido fisherman's dance
Dancers performing a traditional Hokkaido fisherman’s dance

_MG_6565

_MG_6566

DC Japan Model Railroad Club
DC Japan Model Railroad Club

Some cosplay friends at the NHKWorld booth
Some cosplay friends at the NHKWorld booth

_MG_6602

_MG_6604

_MG_6608

A couple of Cherry Blossom Queen candidates
A couple of Cherry Blossom Queen candidates

_MG_6611

_MG_6614

I have a bag, it's a pink bag, others may have other bags, but this one is mine.  Any questions?
I have a bag, it’s a pink bag, others may have other bags, but this one is mine. Any questions?

_MG_6618

M'sh!
M’sh!

_MG_6672

_MG_6677

_MG_6680

_MG_6684

_MG_6690

_MG_6692

_MG_6695

_MG_6700

_MG_6714

_MG_6716

_MG_6720

_MG_6736

Rock Guitarist Face #1
Rock Guitarist Face #1

Rock Guitarist face #2
Rock Guitarist face #2

_MG_6752

_MG_6776

_MG_6810

_MG_6838

_MG_6843

_MG_6848

_MG_6856

_MG_6868

_MG_6884

_MG_6887

_MG_6908

_MG_6912

_MG_6916

_MG_6920

_MG_6921

_MG_6924

_MG_6930

_MG_6937

_MG_6948

_MG_6952

_MG_6954

_MG_6960

_MG_6966

_MG_6968

_MG_6973

ValNika vlogs!
ValNika vlogs!

_MG_6982

_MG_6985

_MG_6998

_MG_7006

_MG_7051

Chillin' at the Tidal Basin...
Chillin’ at the Tidal Basin…

It was... a little crowded...
It was… a little crowded…

_MG_7058

_MG_7062

DC Sakura Matsuri 2013: Tidal Basin Morning

So, the last of the cherry blossoms are dropping their petals, and the primary colors are turning from pink and white to green, after a seemingly endless Winter. Here are photos I took during my walk from the Tidal Basin to the DC Sakura Matsuri (street festival) on Saturday.
I’ll have photos from the matsuri itself in a later post.

Enjoy!

_MG_6049

_MG_6065

_MG_6092

_MG_6107

_MG_6110

_MG_6194

_MG_6220

_MG_6225

_MG_6229

_MG_6238

_MG_6301

_MG_6330

_MG_6340

_MG_6352

_MG_6373

_MG_6395

_MG_6431

_MG_6439

_MG_6484

_MG_6500

As promised, more cherry blossoms…

Here we go, a batch from Tuesday evening (the only time I can get down there is around 5:30. Dang job!). I got some pretty neat pictures of the blossoms, and especially pictures of people enjoying them! I also got some eerie effects by photographing cherry trees at night, lit by streetlights!

So, here are some more, and even more to come later! Enjoy!

_MG_5616
_MG_5596

_MG_5639
_MG_5753

_MG_5650
_MG_5666

_MG_5730
_MG_5674

_MG_5690
_MG_5708

_MG_5718
_MG_5720

_MG_5770
_MG_5784

_MG_5864
_MG_5842

_MG_5922
_MG_5952

_MG_6002
_MG_6009

_MG_6030