Having a bit of a soft spot for bonsai, I may be a little biased, but this is really rather beautiful.
Beautiful autumn bonsai
Culture
A family day out in the fall
For several generations of the same family, a warm day out in the western reaches of Tokyo makes for a very pleasant trip indeed.
And especially so for grandad, or certainly some grandads, as this particular spot is in the garden and boozing area of the Sawanoi sake brewery.
Japanese street food with (a) real character
Japanese street food is pretty damn good to begin with, and it undoubtedly plays a big part in the popularity of festivals and other public gatherings, but if this fella’s food contains as much taste as his face does character.
Then it won’t just be damn good.
But utterly delicious.
Shichi-Go-San sulk?
The tradition of Shichi-Go-San (Seven-Five-Three) goes back many years, and has also seen many changes, with the current practice involving kids of the required age getting all dolled up, going to a shrine, and perhaps most importantly posing for lots of pictures for the family as well as later with a pro.
All of which may well be fun for older family members, but for a three year-old, constant posing combined with a very uncomfortable kimono can also make for more than a few miserable moments.
A bonsai-based Lilliputian landscape
A lovely Lilliputian landscape created by an even more lovely Lilliputian life form.
A giant Japanese festival drum
Along with mikoshi, or portable shrines, taiko drums are a mainstay of many Japanese festivals, although a large number of the latter generally aren’t as big as this lumbering beast.
An instrument that needless to say required quite a few people to pull it along the pre-arranged path.
But all the effort was worth it when the drum was made to produce its powerful, almost primeval sound. An effect that this recording unfortunately does little to reproduce, as although it may replicate the sound to a certain extent, it in no way recreates the vibrations that can be felt bouncing around the air, and even through one’s bones.
Of course knocking out such a noise is no easy task, and those with enough gumption to give it a go understandably had to psyche themselves up beforehand.
As well as utilise a variety of tricky looking techniques.
And of course muster the required strength and stamina.
All of which were warmly appreciated by those watching.
