Photographs from a small group of islands
Quite what this old lady will do with all those leaves I don’t know. And she’s certainly got plenty to pick from. But although it was a scene that was played out only yesterday, it’s presumably one that could also have been pictured anytime yesteryear.
Despite its numerous deficiencies, I do enjoy experimenting with iPhone photography, and, as it’s sometimes the only camera I’m carrying, it also allows me to capture moments I may otherwise have missed.
Such as a really not so packed, and a really rather relaxing train.
A bike that certainly beats the school bus.
And a slice of that famed Japanese diet.
As well as that, it also offers the chance to play around with images of the Japanese coast.
Some of the less salubrious parts of the big city.
Along with scenes of the summer.
And autumn.
Plus finally, my personal favourite, a tremendous looking temple.
Should you be interested, all these, along with plenty of others, can be seen at Tokyo Times iPhone Photos, and new updates are also posted on my Twitter page.
The Japanese population, and thus the capital’s, may well be ageing at a rapid rate, but Tokyo can’t always be an easy place for the elderly to live, especially so when one considers the crowds and almost continuous congestion.
And similarly, when festivals like this one spill out onto the street, they are great fun for those attending, but not so much for those trying to fight their way through.
It may well have been unusually warm of late, but no matter how nice it would be if it’d stay that way, winter, it seems, won’t wait any longer.
Arguably the greatest thing about Japanese festivals is the people that they attract, and the tori no ichi matsuri at Tokyo’s Hanazono Shrine is definitely no different; an event where people go to pray for good luck and buy extortionately priced bamboo ornaments, or kumade.
But as the shrine is in kabukicho, Shinjuku’s famous red-light district, the traditional attire of most festivals was noticeably absent, and was instead replaced by a look that seemed more appropriate to the surrounding area. Such as the glamorous.
Which sunglasses are certainly good for.
And also the girlie.
Not to mention, of course, the more grizzled.
Plus, as well as the usual food and drink on offer, there was also the option of seeing the travelling ‘snake lady’, about whom more can be read here. The prospect of which, partly built up by her promoter.
And her eye-catching promotional poster.
Left some looking a little apprehensive to say the least.
And apprehension was something I also felt at the festival, although not in regards performers, but instead about taking pictures. As, due to the kinds of businesses that were looking for a bit of luck, there were a large number of mobsters and their minions milling about. None of which, for obvious reasons, I felt comfortable photographing.
So instead, here’s a yakuza tattoo-themed Kewpie kumade to finish off with.
