One of the things I was looking forward to doing when I got back to Canada was taking photographs of Ontario's wildlife. Tokyo doesn't have much in the way of wild animals, unless you consider pigeons, crows and cockroaches exciting photography subjects. Anyway I've been back for a month now and haven't been disappointed. Here are some of the more common, and easily seen, subjects around me:
Name: Eastern Cottontail Rabbit
Location: My backyard
Name: Least Chipmunk
Location: White Lake
Name: American Bullfrog
Location: Silver Lake Provincial Park
Name: Blue Darner Dragonfly
Location: Silver Lake Provincial Park
Name: Green Frog
Location: Sharbot Lake Provincial Park
Unfortunately no beavers were sighted outside these dams, although I tried to canoe up quietly...
It was nice to be able to put my 80-200mm lens to good use as I never had much chance to use it in Tokyo. Hopefully I'll have an opportunity to photograph some larger, rarer animals next time.
Time-lapse - Silver Lake Provincial Park(Entered Aug. 26, 2010)
One of the first things I did when I got back to Canada was go camping. I've been going to Silver Lake with my family since I was a kid, and after a 10 year absence, it was nice to see that the place hasn't changed in the slightest. Days were spent swimming, canoeing, hiking, taking photos, etc., but mostly just relaxing.
This is my first time-lapse video, something I've wanted to do for a while, but I've a new respect for people that do longer, more in depth ones. I used a shooting interval of between 10 to 30 seconds for my shots, and when 1 shot equals only a tenth of second, that translates into standing around for a really long time while your camera takes the necessary shots... Anyway enjoy!
All Good Things...(Entered Aug. 20, 2010)
Mike's Blender would like to thank:
-Japan, for always having just one more interesting and beautiful destination to go to, one more bizarre food to eat and one more insightful or infuriating situation to be in.
-The city of Tokyo, for being itself. I sometimes loved you, and sometimes hated you, but life within your borders was never dull.
-All the people that passed through my life during the 10 or so years in my adopted country. I will never forget any of you, and I will miss most of you more than you probably know.
-And of course, last but not least, all the wonderful people that stopped by to have a look at these pages over the years, whether you commented or not.
It's been a great ride.
Mike's Blender will continue on in Canada, sometime, somehow, someway, so make sure to drop by again.
Abandoned Ginza(Entered Aug. 15, 2010)
What if one day, for no particular reason, nobody at all came to Ginza?
Being one of the major shopping and business districts of not only Tokyo, but all of Japan, the chances of this happening are extremely miniscule. However you can't argue that the chance does still exist, stranger things have happened. For example there is a guy in the Guiness Book of Records who was struck by lightning 7 times during his lifetime.
Millions of people work, shop and play in the Ginza area daily, but what if all the shopkeepers decided to take the day off, the business people called in sick, the shoppers said to themselves, 'meh, maybe tomorrow', and the few people that actually live in the area happened to spend the whole day indoors with the curtains drawn, and all of this happened on the same day? It'd be interesting to know how the odds of this rank in relation to getting hit by lighting 7 times.
Then you'd have to ask yourself, 'If on this certain day, nobody at all came to Ginza, would anybody ever know about it?' Kinda like a tree falling in the woods and making no sound if nobody was around to hear it.
But as luck would have it, one person did come to Ginza on this fateful day. The truth it seems, is indeed stranger than fiction...
Tokyo International Forum(Entered Aug. 07, 2010)
Upon entering the Tokyo Kokusai Forum, your first impression will probably be that of awe. Far more impressive looking on the inside; when you look up from the bottom floor far below, you might get the feeling you're looking up at the ribs of a whale, or perhaps the skeleton of a massive ship. Your second thought will probably be something like: 'So what exactly is the purpose of this place?' Good question. After sniffing around a bit it's hard to credit it with being any more than a massive waste of extremely prime real estate, and of course money. The forum has other sections which are used for exhibitions, conferences, various performances and the like, but this particular building (below photo) seems to exist almost solely for the purpose of just looking good. Oh there are a couple restaurants on the top floor (right hand side) and some small conference rooms below that which can be rented out for extraordinary sums of money, but for the most part they remain empty.
Completed in 1996 by world famous architect Rafael Vinoly, the forum may not attract too many people willing to rent out its conference rooms, but it certainly does attract tourists, and with good reason. The building is definitely worth going to see in person.
Hakodate - Day 3(Entered Aug. 03, 2010)
Along with other historical precedents, Hakodate is also the site of the final battle of the Boshin War, the end of which also coincides with the beginning of the Meiji Period of Japan. The 'Battle of Hakodate' took place in and around Japan's only star shaped fort, now known as Goryoukaku Park. In 1868 Imperial forces loyal to the Emperor surrounded and fought the last holdouts of the Shogunate forces of Japan, eventually defeating them. Some of these events and people can be seen in the mostly fictitious movie interpretation 'The Last Samurai'.
Only a park remains now where the fort once stood, but there are still some remenants of the castle walls. It is also a great place to take a quiet and leisurely stroll. And if you feel like paying 800 yen, head up to the top of Goryoukaku Tower for a great bird's eye view of the park.
When I lived in Hakodate, I used to walk around Goroukaku park late at night, alone, looking for ghosts. I know it may sound a bit bizarre, but Hakodate is a quiet town, and I was often bored, with not much else to do. I never saw any however.
I lived only a few minutes away on foot, so I probably spent more time at the park than anywhere else in Hakodate. My apartment building is below. I lived on the top floor, in the room right above the giant sunflower. I chiefly remember the thin walls and my tiny gas stove, and being absolutely freezing during the winter. Ah..., the good old days!
The lady getting out of the car (in the below picture) asked me in tones of concern why I was taking a picture of the building (she runs the small shop below) and I told her that I was a tenant here 10 years ago. She didn't remember me, though I remember her vaguely. I suppose after decades of foreigners traipsing through that room, she would be hard pressed to remember one face.
Once you're done sightseeing in the city, I highly recommend going to some of the outlying areas. Onuma National Park is a great place to spend an afternoon. You've got a lake, a volcano (Mt. Komagatake), hiking, boating, great views and tranquility. Make sure you check with the locals before climbing Mt. Komagatake though. At only 1131 meters high, it is an easy enough hike, but it's still a fairly active volcano. I remember clearly that just one week after I climbed it (in 1998), it erupted, quite violently.
Thanks for the memories Hakodate, and thanks to all the people there that helped me out, and made it a pleasure to visit again and again. Hopefully this visit won't be my last!
Hakodate - Day 2(Entered Jul. 31, 2010)
Hakodate may be small by Japanese standards, but it has an extremely interesting and varied history. Although Hakodate is the third biggest city in Hokkaido, it was the first city the Japanese built there as they moved up from Honshu island. The area surrounding the harbour (in the below shot) is the point where the Japanese first landed, and began once again (as in Honshu) to displace the previous inhabitants, the Ainu.
Hakodate is also one of two cities (the other city being Shimoda) that were opened up to trade with the Americans after Commodore Perry and his famous Black Ships forced Japan to end its period of seclusion. Because of this, Hakodate, along with a few other Japanese cities such as Nagasaki and Yokohama, have an interesting mix of Western and Japanese achitecture and a pleasing international flavour.
The red brick Kanemori warehouses of Hakodate bear a strong resemblance to the 'Akarenga Souko' in Yokohama. In both cases they have been transformed into souvenir shops and restaurants. At night, they're lit up and look particularly striking.
One of Hakodate's many colonial style buildings, the Old Public Hall.
Why shoot all these places at night you might ask? Hakodate is popular tourist destination, not only for Japanese, but for Chinese and Koreans as well. If you come on a weekday night though, around 9pm, you'll have the whole downtown area almost to yourself. Another reason is that shooting photos in the daytime gives you the everyday, regular view. Shooting at night is just more original, and interesting.
But that doesn't mean shoot only at night!
The Russian Orthodox Church (below). Hakodate once had a strong Russian influence, and there is even a Russian university nearby. You won't find very many Russians in Hakodate these days however, nor will you find many people studying Russian.
Other good points of Hakodate include: great fruit, vegetables and seafood, friendly people, a small population, the fact that most of its tourist attractions are within walking distance of each other, and perhaps best of all, unlike the rest of Japan, Hakodate (and Hokkaido) has no rainy season. Come up in June or July and take a break from Tokyo's muggy humidity.
Hakodate - Day 1(Entered Jul. 22, 2010)
The city of Hakodate, located on the southern tip of Hokkaido, holds a special significance for me. Although I've lived in Tokyo now for about 10 years, Hakodate is the city where I lived when I first came to Japan way back in 1998.
In stark contrast to Tokyo's massive size and noisy, business-oriented lifestyle, Hakodate is small, quiet, and friendly. I lived there for one very enjoyable year before heading to the largest city on earth, and often wonder to myself why I ever left.
Hakodate's crowning glory is the view of the city at night from the top of Mt. Hakodate, considered not only to be one of the top three night views in Japan (the other two being Kobe and Nagasaki), but one of the top three most beautiful night views in the entire world. Though I've yet to see the views of the other two contenders (Hong Kong and Naples), I can personally attest to Hakodate's being awe inspiring. I've climbed the mountain at least 7-8 times now and the view never fails to impress me. Click on the photo for a larger version.
The Largest City in the World(Entered Jul. 16, 2010)
The megalopolis of Tokyo, Yokohama, Kawasaki, Saitama and Chiba is the largest concentration of people the world has ever seen. With a current population of over 30 million people, you can ride a train across the entire Kanto plain without seeing so much as a single break in houses, buildings, stores, traffic and people. Its crushing population is beyond the scope of human imagination really, but to give you an idea, there are about the same number of people living in greater Tokyo than there are in all of Canada. That's 31 million or so people, all living in an area about the same size as Delaware. The second biggest city in the world, metro Jakarta, doesn't even come close, it only has 24 million people.
To get a better look at this gargantuan beast of a city that I've been living in for 10 years, I headed to the top of Tokyo's 5th tallest building, the Mori Tower, which is the only one of the top 5 where you're permitted to actually go right outside onto the roof, called the 'Sky Deck'. However even at 238 meters up, Tokyo still fades into the horizon at every point except the ocean...
In the centre and far in the distance, Shinjuku's skyscrapers rise up, with Yoyogi Park, Shinjuku Gyoen, and Aoyama Cemetary providing some greenery to break up the monotony. Shibuya lies to the left and Ikebukuro is in the distance on the right. Western Tokyo, Saitama and Mt. Fuji lie somewhere in the distance, hidden beyond the haze.
Click on the photo for a larger view.
