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APRIL 2008 : CHUBU, JAPAN
We start off in the fine city of Kanazawa, Ichikawa prefecture, home to Kenrokuen, one of the three top gardens in Japan.
Even in winter it's a haven of rustic peace...
...except for the hordes of old biddies bumbling along behind megaphone-wielding tour guides
But perhaps spring is not too far away after all...
They look almost good enough to eat, huh?
That reminds me, where are the bogs?
The essential elements of a Japanese garden: water...
...plants...
...stone...
...moss...
...an old teahouse...
...and blaring announcements on the tannoy (not pictured)
Kanazawa's fine reconstructed castle...
...made entirely of egg cartons and coathangers...
...and the crushed bones of foreign barbarians
The castle gate
Bulwark or bastion? You decide...
Door lamp in Kanazawa's samurai quarter
Straw frontage on old samurai houses
Zoom back de camera!
Kanazawa's delightful geisha quarter...
...complete with ukiyo-e posters displaying ladies of yesteryear...
...and just before the tour groups arrive!
The Starbucks of geisha-town
These structures date from the turn of the 18th century, so it ain't like Stonehenge, mate
This picture looks exactly the same as the previous one, but if you look very closely you'll see that it's subtley different
A couple of modern geisha sashay along the path of history, no doubt gazes firmly fixed upon mobile phones
I know, let's stick some pages cut out from a magazine on the front of our ancient dwelling
A cafe for dogs
...and a lovely little display of ikebana, the manly art of flower arrangement
Walking out and about among the winding streets of old Kanazawa town, I chanced upon this charming scene of a bunch of old aloe vera bottles lined up for no apparent reason. Lovely.
On to Takayama, and it's pissing with rain, and freezing because the snow hasn't gone yet. Still, the Hida folk village displaying old thatched dwellings of yesteryear is a delight
Sign reads "apologies for the pissing rain and freezing snow"
Yep, it's mid-March, and the pond is still frozen over - I've gone back in time!
The good thing about this park is that they let you hoof it about inside the old dwellings...bit bloody drafty, I can tell you!
Stunted peasants used to live here
This one dull street full of tacky souvenir shops is what the Lonely Planet Guide to Japan thinks you should stick around in Takayama two days for. The Lonely Planet Guide is shite.
Crappy guide book dispensed with, and I head out on my own to find the real gems of the town...
...including this great view of the town from the hills...
...and this stunning Japan Alps vista from the other side. At last - the snowy peaks I'd dreamt of. Bit far away, though...
Oh, the rusticity!
Charming architecture...
...and a bunch of monkeys in the forest on the way up to the castle ruins.
A secluded temple appears through the trees, and we enter the Realm Where Japanese Tour Groups Never Go.
At the top we are rewarded with an even better view of the Japan Alps - yay!
Back in town, and some Old Bits in the back streets. Enough of this ruralness, I need a slice of urban....
...so we move on to Nagoya, a big brash city of broad avenues, neon, and a castle which looks magnificent from the outside...
...and even when you get up close, but inside...oh crap. Methinks elevators, concrete and toilets which shoot water up your arse did not exist in the 17th century.
Next down to Nagoya's harbour with some early blooming flowers infront of the ghastly Little Italy replica which was too horrible to photograph.
Just then, on a whim, I raise my Box Brownie to the heavens and manage to capture this superb scene, a squadron of Nakajima B5N torpedo bombers off to Pearl Harbour...
Nagoya harbour - a dash of sunlight, reflections and some interesting colour combos, et voila - a great photo.
These big wheel thingies are everywhere these days. Even Nagoya's got one!
Now here's a real old castle, this time in sunny Matsumoto, a town right at the foot of the Japan Alps. Not that I would know, though, as it pissed down all day and I never got to see the buggers.
If there's no blue sky, come back at night and try not to shake the camera. Ah, that's better.
On to Nagano, the final destination, and the sun returns as we stroll along to Zenkoji temple...
...there to moon at chubby Gods...
...shout 'alright, mate!' to the head priest and his entourage...
...and laugh at the peasants genuflecting in such a subservient manner. That won't cure your piles, madam!
Ah, incense and swastikas - a heady combination!
Eaves 'n' trees
Delightfully thatched roof with a cunningly concealed swastika under that bobbley thing
Ah, the old 'depth of field' trick...
...not once, but twice...
...and once more for luck.
Insert your own 'big knob' joke here.
Nagano at night. The secret is to not breath during the two minutes the shutter remains open.
Next day the sun did shine once more, so I jumped on the bus to Hakuba Happo - a damn silly name, but at last a chance to get at them mountings.
Wow - it almost looks real, doesn't it?
Of course, I was the only knob on the slopes without skis or snowboard, getting in everyone's way like a right plonker.
Even worse, I managed to get sunstroke, such was the inappropriateness of my attire.
Back downstairs, and an Olympic ski jump thingy hides behind some trees.
Following the tracks of the previous ill-fated expedition to the pole.
Simply divine, the sheer majesty of it all!
The sign says "Rhubarb - all you can pick for a tenner"
It's hard to believe that just a couple of hours before I was on the summit of that there distant peak. Because I wasn't.
Eskimo dwelling...
...green cowshed...
...and another gratuitous look at them mountains, this time cunningly including a carpark in the foreground
Yes, this picture is out of sequence, but I'm buggered if I'm going to move all the others down one slot just to get it in the right place.
Last night in Nagano, and instead of bigging it up in the clubs, I go out for some more night shots. Loser!
Zenkoji's swastikas at midnight. OK, it was about 8pm, actually.
Yes, it's a genuine lucky charm vending machine. The one selling used school girls' panties was next door. Those monks, eh?
The long road back from Zenkoji, bathed in an eerie green glow that was wholly absent in reality.
Some random rich knob's front door, and thus endeth the slide show. Huzzah!
All images © 2008 Andy Lightfoot: no unauthorised reproduction without the author's prior consent. Enquires to that effect should be directed here.
01/2010 : Ujina, Hiroshima
01/2010 : Recent Pictures
09/2009 : Spain
05/2009 : Kyoto, Otsu and Shiga, Japan
03/2009 : Hokkaido, Japan
09/2008 : Britain and France
04/2008 : Chubu, Japan
10/2007 : France
03/2007 : Kyushu, Japan
10/2006 : Norway
08/2006 : Kansai, Japan
03/2006 : Australia
09/2005 : Czech Republic
08/2005 : Tokyo, Japan
03/2005 : Australia
01/2005 : Hiroshima and Kyoto, Japan
09/2004 : Britain, Finland and Germany
03/2004 : New Zealand
09/2003 : France and Switzerland
03/2003 : New Zealand
12/2002 : Hiroshima, Japan, Denmark and Sweden