Let's take another smartphone walk around Japan. Again, I'm using Hipstamatic. Even with modern smartphones that have fairly good resolution, Hipstamatic gives a nice lo-fi analog look, like something you might see from a cheap plastic camera or toy camera. To heighten the effect, I used one of my old smartphones from several years ago.
(incidentally I just saw on Aliexpress that you can buy Holga lenses for canon dslr cameras for only $20 USD. I am so tempted. Yes, of course it will be a cheap piece of crap, but the Holga itself was a cheap piece of crap and that is exactly why photographers all over the world still love it)
Anyway, on with the show. These will be in random order so let's start with the castle.
I should do a longer post talking more about Okazaki Castle one of these days. Like most "castles" these days in Japan, it is not the original, but rather a concrete replica with a museum inside. Not ideal, but it does look impressive from the outside.
Some lanterns leading to a shrine. This is actually one of the major shrines in the area and a fairly important one historically. Again, I should do a fuller post later.
That's a lot of bicycles. Parking for trains is not ideal, so most people ride their bicycles (or walk) to the station, resulting in the need for many of these bicycle parking garages. There's a lot in there!
One of the guard towers near the castle. Not as impressive as the castle, but still pretty neat. This one is in the middle of a parking lot, resulting in a somewhat odd arrangement.
The torii gate to the inner shrine I mentioned above.
Steps going up to...where? Let's go and find out!
They led to an area with a bunch of spider lilies. I was really surprised that they were still out. Most are long gone. Less sunlight or something in this area or something that allowed them to survive longer?
A pretty nice house. Looks expensive too. And I know it was—I watched it go up. Most houses these days in Japan go up surprisingly fast, within a week or two. But this one was not prefab and went up slowly over a few months using what I assume to be much higher quality parts than most houses do.
A temizuya, or... hmm...washing hands station? Cleaning station? Not sure the english term we would use here. It is where you clean your hands before going into a shrine.
Finally, another lantern and some maple leaves.
And there we are. Another look at everyday Japan—hope you enjoyed. See you next time!
| David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. |
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