Carp Flags at Shirahata Shrine

Yesterday was Kodomo no Hi (子供の日) or Children’s Day in Japan.  It’s a holiday that celebrates children and their happiness.  During this holiday, people string up carp flags/streamers, or koi nobori.  Basically, they’re a kind of wind sock.  I visited Shirahata Shrine (白幡神社) in Fujisawa, near Fujisawa-honmachi Station, and was treated to a large number of very big koi nobori.  Have a look.

The shrine gate.

Those are some big streamers.

Caught in the wind.

White wisteria.

Looking up.

Going up to the main hall.

The main hall with glare from the sun.

Koi nobori from the main hall.

I hope all the children will be strong this year.

Sakura

This picture shows just how beautiful it is right now.  There are some trees that are nearly in full bloom, but most are still just starting out.  Next week, the trees will be in full bloom.  It’ll be great for pictures!

It’s sakura time!

Giant grasshoppers of Japan

This morning, on my way to work, I encountered this little guy:

Holy crap! It’s huge!

It was a grasshopper, and boy was it ever big.  It was about 4 or 5 cm long!  I’d never seen a grasshopper that big before.  I’ve mentioned before that Japan has a lot of large, creepy animals.  I just hope I don’t run into a Huntsman spider.

Anyway, Exploring Gifu will be coming tomorrow night.

Early Cherry Blossoms: Kawazuzakura

Today, as I was going shopping, I happened upon a pleasant surprise.  It was Kawazuzakura, or Kawazu cherry trees.  This variety is from the Izu Peninsula of Shizuoka, and is a bright pink.  It blooms from late February to mid-March.  Very nice surprise, don’t you think?

Riverside Kawazuzakura.

The beach at Tsujido

It’s been a long time since I posted about Tsujido Seaside Park, but this is part 2! It was October 19th of last year, and we’d just left the park to walk along the beach.  So, we followed a path along a river.  I’ll just let the pictures speak for themselves, as there’s not much to explain.  So, enjoy!

Graffiti under the bridge.

It was a sunny day, so great reflection off of Sagami Bay. You can see the Izu Peninsula in the distance.

There were some incredible waves at the beach that day.

There’s Enoshima in the distance.

These fences are wind barriers to keep the sand from drifting. My wife is the small figure on the beach.

A kite posing for me with some great waves in the background.

Another picture of the kite looking away.

Getting closer to Enoshima with some nice waves and clouds.

Same location, but more waves.

Near the mouth of the Hikiji River, I got some great reflection pictures. This is the first.

I caught some rays through the clouds.

More rays with the Izu Peninsula in the distance.

Some great waves. They were pretty big that day.

I think this was the best picture of this set. An amazing spotlight on the bay.

And that’s it for the beach.  I think the last photo was the best.  What do you think?

Still icy 3 days later

It’s been 3 days since the big snowstorm in the Tokyo area, and we still have snow and ice on the ground.  Usually it’s gone within 2 or 3 days, but it’s been quite cold this week.

The day after the snow, some of it was melting, resulting in another messy day.  I took these pictures Tuesday morning.

Snowy sidewalks and a wet street.

In my building’s parking lot.

All of this wet snow and melt water froze in the evening, and it was quite dangerous just walking on the sidewalk.  The melting and freezing cycle makes it difficult for people to walk, as well as drive.  It’s much better now, with just a bit of ice and snow in the shadowy areas.  It’s warming up this weekend, so it should be all gone soon.