Tokyo Imperial Palace moat rowboat rentals: 30 minutes for Y500
The Imperial Palace Moat, or An Afternoon in Photos
A Delightful Mess, or The Painting Party
Slow, balmy breezes and a constant circling of petals in the sunlight like dust particles have changed Hikichigawa (at last! the river has a name!) into a spring wonderland. Picnickers gave way to sketchers and painters outlining the beauty with a box of colors beside their stools. Strollers pause to admire and comment—no one seems…
Blizzard!!
Follow the cherry blossoms to our house!Greenery is starting to push through the pink petals. I took this photo about five seconds after the one above when the wind started to blow—April blizzard!
Tokyo Cherry Blossom Tour—This Way!
Good morning, please follow me to the cherry blossoms! …that is a petal on my head. Our first stop in Tokyo is Aoyama Cemetery, near Tokyo Metro’s Nogizaka Station. I dreamed up visions of cherry blossoms drooping over marble memorials Savannah-style but of course Aoyama is a Japanese-style cemetery with more stone lanterns (below) than…
Kawasaki Fertility Festival Parade and Temple Monks
Kawasaki Fertility Festival parade Heiken-ji Temple Kawasaki Daishi, known for protection against misfortunes
The Nature of this Cultural Content May Not be Appropriate for Children
Ah, spring. A time of flowers and sunshine. Or for “ladies of the night” in ancient Edo, it meant time to harvest sprouting shoots of bamboo and greenery, parade a giant phallus through the city of Kawasaki, picnic in the courtyard of the Kanamara Shrine and pray for protection from syphilis. The enthroned phalli are…
Then and Now!
Then: Japan Pavilion, Epcot, Disney World, Orlando, Florida, USA—June 2008 Now: Heiken-ji Temple, Kawasaki Daishi, Japan—April 2009 Hmm, 10 months can make a world of difference! Err–half a world, anyway!