Japanese summers are hot. And humid. And loooong. It's hard work getting through those months. Luckily, the Japanese have designed a few different outfits to help things stay cool. The first, yukata, is a summer kimono of light cotton. While men's yukata are fairly plain and subdued, women's yukata burst with colour—floral patterns abound, with … Continue reading Photo of the Day: Summertime is Jimbei Time
Photo of the Day: Boatful ‘a’ Shells
It's sazae season down the Shonan coast. Sazae are, well, sea snails (or, more accurately, turban shells, a kind of mollusc). Mmmmmmboy, right? ...I'm not a big fan. I like escargots, but that's mostly because they're drowning in garlic butter, sometimes lost in pastry, and always small. Sazae are not small. The Japanese love them—grilled, … Continue reading Photo of the Day: Boatful ‘a’ Shells
Photo of the Day: Anchors
The afternoon before the typhoon, the fishermen and women along our stretch of beach hauled all their equipment and boats up as high as they could. That included this fine collection of anchors, which I'd never noticed before.
Photo of the Day: Kites, A Series
Waiting impatiently for the crows to finish with the moray eel, the kites flew circles in the sky.
Photo of the Day: Getting the Stink Eye From Crows
The waves pre-typhoon brought in quite a collection of debris, including a rather large moray eel, called an utsubo in Japanese. It was *quite* the popular fish with both the crows and kites (a bird of prey). As the crows were more plentiful, they beat out the kites, which had to be content to circle … Continue reading Photo of the Day: Getting the Stink Eye From Crows
Photo of the Day: Taifuu Ikka
After a typhoon blows through, the weather goes from wild to wonderful. That perfect post-storm weather is called taifuu ikka in Japanese. Last night, we had a very early typhoon blow through. Typhoon #6 (Noul) was a super typhoon when it hit the Philippines and Taiwan, but was much, much weaker when it arrived in … Continue reading Photo of the Day: Taifuu Ikka
Photo of the Day: Waiting
Festival participants and goers have a rest between activities on the Zaimokuza side of Yuigahama Beach. Even festivals have down time.
Photo of the Day: A Hole in the Rock
I love the entrance to Zeniarai Benten, and the tunnel of stone is just the start. Once through the rock, the tunnel continues in the form of substantial wooden torii gates. It's one of the most dramatic shrine entrances in Kamakura.
Photo of the Day: A Bit of History
Dust to dust, ashes to ashes—a brief seven years after becoming shogun (military ruler of Japan), Yoritomo Minamoto's reign ended. Yoritomo, first shogun of the Minamoto clan, router of myriad armies, the man who brought in a dual system of government (all-powerful shogun and symbol-only emperor) that lasted until the Meiji Restoration in 1868—700 years … Continue reading Photo of the Day: A Bit of History
Photo of the Day: Name Tags
At the entrance to Amanawa Jinja stands a tall board covered in wooden name tags. I'm not sure exactly what the names are, but often, the names of prominent supporters and donors are written along the sando leading to shrines and temples.
女性専用 - Inn By The Sea Kamakura - Women's Guesthouse 