Autumn at Tamagawadai Park

Despite earlier predictions, the autumn leaves in my part of Tokyo have been quite colorful.

After very close to 11 years here, I am beginning to get used to the late, warm autumns. I used to think it strange that autumn leaves were peaking in late November/early December as they have long ago peaked and fallen back home.

Now I am tempted to agree with people who tell me that the weather is getting cold---at 60 degrees!!!!!

I have been here too darned long.

Tamagawa Autumn

Every year in early November, I walk the 20 minutes or so to the Tama River specifically looking for this type of scene. It usually happens around 4-4:30 on a certain part of the river just as the sun's angle gets low enough to backlight only parts of the river and vegetation. It's an indication for me that fall has really begun in Tokyo.

An afternoon walk along the Tamagawa

I don't know how to describe the weather in Tokyo this year, but I would call it unusual to say the least.

The sky was beautiful yesterday after 2-3 days of wind and some rain which made for some interesting light and conditions. So I took a walk along the now intimate-to-me Tamagawa near my home.Lovers near Shinmaruko bridge.

This young fellow and I kept running into each other---literally.

"I can ride it myself, ma" he decided a little further up the river.

As he continued to ride, I went back to looking for photos in the amazing light.

And as I did, the young fellow with the unjustified-self-confidence circled around to where I was. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him approach and then topple off his bicycle-with-training-wheels at my feet.

"Excuse me," I said. He got up and said nothing while looking at me with a bit of concern in his eyes.

"Are you OK?" I asked as I handed him his mother's hat which had dropped out of the basket on the front of his bike.

"I'm OK," he said, relieved that I would not eat him. As I handed him another bag that he had dropped, his mother ran over and said "Thank you" in English.

I didn't know exactly what she was thanking me for, but since such events are never simple matters in Tokyo, I replied, "You're welcome." Thus ended this encounter between the young guy and his ma and the forever-foreigner.

Jogging along the river.

I got back to Denenchofu station a little earlier than planned, and the light was still excellent. In a month or so, there will be one main type of weather. Rain.

Summer Winds

Rainy season is officially over, I heard. It seems to have be a bit windier than usual recently and it ain't even close to typhoon season yet. It has made for some very interesting skies and clouds.

Summer in the long grass

A bit of an oasis in Tokyo---at least the more urbanized part. If ya can't get out, the river is as good a place to go as any. On weekdays it isn't especially crowded, but on weekends and holidays, things change quickly. Look for weather---cold, rain, very hot and humid days, snow, high winds all drive a lot of the more dainty-types indoors. Nights are nice too...

April in Tochigi

From Nyohosan



The town of Nikko down below

Spring monochrome

Like most places in central Honshuu above about 1000 meters, Nyohosan is still in natural monochrome in the spring. No cherry blossoms here. These were taken 24 April and it will be several weeks before much green returns.

No luck

There are always a number of fishermen along the Tamagawa. Some even fish during rare snowstorms in Tokyo. Some folks claim the fish are safe to eat as the river is claimed to be relatively clean, but others who live in the area cringe at the thought as the image of the river is anything but clean.

Trouble coming

From 2007 at Utsukushigahara in Nagano.

The end of the day

Tamagawa river between Tamagawadaikoen and Shinmaruko, Tokyo/Kanagawa, Japan. Taken with the D300 and Tamron 200-500mm@500mm.

So far, the latest firmware update has made the camera a different beast concerning autofocus. It isn't perfect, but finally I can feel confident using any autofocus mode under certain conditions. It also focuses much more quickly, even with the Tamron 200-500. Birds in flight are now much, much easier to get. It's almost like having a new camera. Knock on wood.

Damp and dark in Kyoto

Near Ohara Temple about an hour from downtown.

This spring has been the rainiest in 120 years. Things are becoming even more moss covered than usual. Rainy season has started 20 days early in Kanto.

This photo is from Kyoto, in Kansai. Still plenty rainy there too.

After the rain

Another trip to Kyoto in what must be the coolest, rainiest year in the last 5 or 6. In the woods near Ohara temple about an hour by bus from the center of Kyoto.

Horai Park Denenchofu

I have actually seen grey herons in this park. After three solid days of rain, it was nice to get outside.
This is a male karugamo. Complete with redeye.

Daiya River at sunset

Saturday, 22 March. Nikko, Japan.

I could spend hours here near sunset. This one was not spectacular, but it was enjoyable, nonetheless.

Daiya River, Nikko

I cannot get this photo right. I liked the sky, but rest just seems a bit off to me no matter what. (The tree on the lower right doesn't help, but I don't particularly mean that.)

It doesn't help that my RAW software--Capture One 4 is not as good as its predecessor. Taken 17 February on one of my monthly trips to Nikko. The memory is nice even if the photos weren't.

Nakimushiyama, Nikko Japan

Close to Nikko station---about a 10 minute walk to the trailhead. The "mountain" itself is only 1104 meters high, but is a very steep climb for the last 1/3.

Nikko Japan

In the mountains about 2 hours from Tokyo. Nakimushiyama Trail. (What happened to the color in this? I guess my monitor calibration has gone off again?)

Winter afternoon on the Tama River

Northern Shoveler on a winter afternoon

On the Tama River. Incidentally, this was taken at ISO 1600 with normal noise reduction with the Nikon D300. Nikon makes good cameras, but terrible software, and as noted below, less than helpful support. (Nikon would claim otherwise though which shows you what they consider good customer support on the software side.)
Nikon D300, Tamron 200-500mm@500mm. 1/200@f8. Tripod used.