Gion Matsuri

I've posted about Gion matsuri before here. This year, it is my second visit. Compared to last year, there was lil sunshine this year.. therefore my pic also looks better, hehe. At the corner to enter 'Oike dori' (Oike street), the 'boko' (float) took longer time to turn compared to last year, probably the people pulling the boko are getting old. However, this came in handy to our advantage as more photo shots could be taken. At one moment, there was a guy dangling the child from the inside of the boko. Is this part of the tradition? I missed this last year!

On Japanese TV, there's a special program (I think every Saturday evening) that showcase the life of a baby animal. This time around it was a baby 'anteater' and its mum. Previously they have shown about a cub, baby otter etc. Since I tune in very seldom, I think I missed most of it. Anyway, the baby anteater is kawaiii!

Yamashita Park, Yokohama

I didn't know the idiom 'to kill two birds with one stone' will actually be useful for birds. In this pic, the cable/rope that is used to tie this giant ship, actually serves as 'networking' ground for a group of birds, hehe. By the way, this is a another scene at Yamashita park

Yamashita Park, Yokohama

I always wanted to go to Yokohama and finally it became a reality. This picture was taken in Yamashita Park. It was a hot day but with a cold breeze flowing, I even managed to take a rest here lying on the bench

I do like photography a lot and from time to time I do it as a hobby.. not that I'm any good at it, it's just a form of appreciating nature, beauty, people etc. Recently this one pic (via wikipedia) really caught my attention and I was really amazed by it. It's about a 'bee carrying a pollen'. At first it looks like some sort of CGI, but its not. I can tell you this, it's nothing like my firefly pic! (The picture in this post is published under the GNU Free Documentation License which can be viewed here)

Hotaru

It's kind like a firefly (the insect) week here in Kyoto. Therefore, we set up a mission looking for 'Hotaru' (firefly) along the Philosopher's Walk. Turns out, the Hotaru in this famous path probably has vacated. It was an area nearby (surprisingly next to the main road) that still had a few Hotaru. I managed to take a few pics, but had problems finding where is the Hotaru?

Tsukiji Market, Tokyo

Finally, this world famous fish site was within my sight. The auction site is opened to the public only very early in the morning and the entire market is closed on certain days. So, it's better to check here before a visit (click on the calendar button, the red button indicates rest-day). In this particular pic, the tuna is being inspected from a cut intentionally being made on the tail section of the fish. Some of the pics I took was also lil scary.. 'a giant tuna without a head', I wouldn't dare to show it in my blog. Coinciding with the visit here, I heard a BBC documentary called Fish! A Japanese Obsession was shown in the UK. Apart from other stuff, Tsukiji market was also featured. The big focus here are reported to be 'blue fin tuna' because they are an increasingly rare and expensive commodity (Pomphrey, Huck magazine, 2009). For more pics, visit here