A Skilled Maker of Japanese Sweets

These photos were taken in a shop of Japanese sweets or "manjyu" near the hotel where I stayed overnight after hiking last weekend. When I was taking a walk before breakfast, I found it and dropped in it to buy some manju. It makes and sells "shiratama-manjyu" or "steamed rice flour little bun". It is a long-established shop but now it is run by an old lady after her husband was hospitalized about a year ago. She told me that she would keep making manju as long as she could. Before I left there, I asked her to let me photograph her in the workshop. First she declined my request, but after a while she posed for my camera.

Snapshots

These are the snapshots that I took on my overnight trip to Saga Prefecture when I went hiking on two mountains. The first photo was taken in the garden of Ishibashi Art Museum in Kurume City, and the second near Tosu Highway Intersection. One the scarecrows was wearing a sash bearing a taffic safety slogan across its chest. They seemed to be erected not only for the rice paddies near the highway but also for traffic safety on the highway.

Little Fall Scenes on Mt. Iharayama

These are the little fall scenes on Mt. Iharayama where I hiked with my friends last week. I found that some tree leaves had already begun to change their colors. We will be able to enjoy gorgeous fall colors and awesome fall scenes in a week or so because no big typhoons hit Kyushu this year.

Hiking on Mt. Raizan & Mt. Iharayama

Last weekend, I hiked with my friends on Mt. Raizan & Mt. Iharayama in Saga Prefecture, Kyushu. I had to stay at the tail end of our group because of my knees and lower back aches. But I enjoyed taking pictures while making my way through the thicket on both mountains. The view from their peaks was wonderful, too.

Hanauma Bay

After hiking on Diamond Head, I went to Hanauma Bay by bus though my friends wanted to do some shopping near Waikiki. It was just because I was impressed with its beautiful view from the airplane on our way back from Molokai. When I arrived, I was surprised to see a long line of people who were waiting for their turn to pay the admission to the beach. I did not know that the bay was a protected marine life conservation area. Since I had to get back to the Waikiki area to visit a little museum, I just looked down from the ridge at the beautiful beach, where many people seemed to be enjoying sunbathing, relaxing and picnicking.

Hiking on Diamond Head

Since July 11, I have been posting photos of my trip to the Hawaiian Islands when I have no recent photos to post. These photos were taken from the top of the Diamond Head Crater, one of the places which I wanted to visit. I had seen Diamond Head in the background in movies, magagines and post cards, etc. since I got interested in English and America, so it was one of the musts that I wanted to visit. On July 7, I hiked on Diamond Head. It was interesting hiking inside the crater, up many stairs and through an old military tunnel. I enjoyed spectacular panoramic views from the observation deck on the rim, showing the inside of the cone, the Honolulu district and the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

New and Old

A new car arrived at our house last weekend. It is a "Prius", one of Toyota's hybrid cars. It gets very good mileage. I am not used to driving it yet but I like it so far. The car in the second photo, which I had used for almost ten years, had no trouble, but the number of miles driven was over 130,000 kilo meters.

Yosakoi Dance Competition

These photos were taken in Kumamoto Castle on Yosakoi Dance Festival Day. Dance groups from even outside Kyushu were performing in the dance competition. Every group displayed their energetic dancing skills under the autumn blue sky. I was overpowered with their vigorous performance.

Yabusame, Traditional Mounted Archery

These are threee photos of Yabusame, which is a type of traditional mounted archery in Japan. I photographed them on Kumamoto Castle Festival day. That day, there were ten archers dressed in traditional samurai warrior clothes. They competed with each other by shooting nine arrows in total at three targets from a running horse, while controlling their horse with their knees and galloping down a track at high speed. Yabusame is not a sport but a ritual which is often performed for special events. The point of an arrow is blunt and round-shaped in order to make a louder sound when it strikes the target. I was reminded of my university days when I practiced Japanese archery and took part in many archery competitions.

Fireworks Competition

On the night of October 16, thirty groups of pyrotechinicians from all over Japan competed with each other over their products and pyrotecnic skills along the riverside of Kuma River in Yatsushiro City. 13,000 bursts of fireworks set off into the air were spectacular! I enjoyed the breathtaking fireworks show which brilliantly painted the night sky.

Cosmos Flowers in Full Bloom

In Kumamoto prefecture, Comos flowers or Mexican Asters are in full bloom now. These are the photos which I took in a little park on the top of Mt. Nakao in Minamata City. When I visited, a lot of people were enjoying an outing under the autumn sky. The flowers under the blue sky were beautiful.

Making a Wish

On the night of the lantern festival, a lot of people were writing their wishes on a piece of paper, placing it inside the bamboo lantern cut on the cross, and putting them around a sacred tree in a park.

Lantern Festival in Kumamoto

On the night of the lantern festival, the area in and around Kumamoto Castle became a fantasy world! I was just enchanted by various romantic night scenes created by about 54000 lanterns.

Mizuakari Festival

This year, again, I went to see and photograph a light festival called "Mizuakari", which was held in and around Kumamoto Castle. The light from a great number of bamboo lanterns against the illuminated castle was stunningly beautiful.

Three Star Dinner Cruise

On the fifth evening of our trip to the Hawaiian Islands, we had a fun and exciting time on a Three Star Sunset Dinner Cruise. We enjoyed a 5-course whole Maine lobster and tenderloin steak dinner with continuous entertainment from a welcome hula, to live Jazz., etc. Our ship slowly cruised the Waikiki Coast against the backdrop of the Hawaiian sunset. The dinner was great and the sunset was breathtaking!

Pictures of Surfing Scenes at Waikiki

These are the pictures of surfing scenes which I took at Waikiki Beach. While I was photographing, I slightly regretted that I did not visit there while I was still young enough to do surfboarding.

Snapshots in Waikiki

These are snapshots which I took on Kalakaua and Kuhio Avenues. Many tourists were enjoying themselves in their own style in Waikiki whose atmosphere is free and open. Even a parrot couple on Kalakaua Avenue were kissing each other in a bold and passionate manner!!

American Chili Soup

This is a picture of American chili soup that I ate for the first time in my life. It was very delicious and I enjoyed it very much. A young American, whom I teach Japanese language to once a week, cooked and brought it to me when I was sick in bed last week. He told me that his mother always cooked this dish when he was sick in bed back in the States. Listening to him say that it took him nearly three hours to cook it, I was deeply moved by his kindness.

Japanese Pampas Grass in Aso

Japanese pampas grass is one of the subjects that I like to shoot at this time of the year. These photos were taken near Mt. Tawarayama in Aso on the way from my shooting drive from Oita Prefecture. I like Aso in every season but I especially like it in autumn when Japanese pampas grasses shine in the late-afternoon or in the early morning sun. The first photo was edited from a raw image of the pictures which I took in both jpeg and raw images. It is not easy for me to work with the digital data of raw images, but I have been studying how to do it by myself since last month.

Buckwheat Field in Aso

These are pictures of a buckwheat field in Namino Village in Aso. When I visited there on September 24, I was moved to see a great number of pure white buckwheat blossoms as far as I could see. They were in full bloom and waving in the breeze against the Five Peaks of Mt. Aso, which is said to look like a sleeping Buddha. The Aso Area is well-known as one of the most famous production centers of buckwheat in Kumamoto Prefecture.