Kim Clay is a professional make-up artist living on Okinawa. Normally she isn’t the one in front of the camera, but a couple of months ago Eboh and I took a few photographs of her testing out a retro glamour look. Here’s a shot inspired by the poster above.
Tokyo Megacity, written by Donald Richie with photography by my friend Ben Simmons, is now available from Amazon Japan. Just ordered my copy, hopefully Ben will sign it next time we meet. 🙂
Teppan and Popo are two freestyle dancers who are bringing American funk and hip-hop to Okinawa’s streets. “Teppan” (Tetsuya Yamauchi), “Popo” (Masato Ishikawa) and “Taiga” (Taiga Ishioka) have been friends since elementary school. They grew up in the small, laid-back seaside city Ishikawa, and while most of their classmates were more interested in baseball or basketball their passion was street dance. They formed their own dance team “Sound Terror” and their slick moves have taken them to competitions and events across Japan, and recently to the United States and the United Kingdom. In 2005, they set up their own SKF Dance Studio in Ishikawa, teaching freestyle dance classes to a new generation of kids with big dreams. Teppan and Popo talk about their inspiration, their dreams and their love of dance. Where did you learn to dance? “We went to various classes while we were at high school. Teppan studied hip-hop, Popo was into locking, and Taiga did breaking. After six months, we quit the school classes and started dancing together as a team. Our …
One of the most famous tourist attractions in Beppu is to tour the 8 different “hells” or jigoku. You could easily argue that they are commercialized tourist traps with enormous souvenir halls and roped off walkways corralling you around the pools. However it’s also worth remembering that a large proportion of Japanese domestic tourists are elderly so the smooth wheelchair friendly layouts provide an accessible taste of volcanic activity. The decision to add some forlorn looking zoo animals was misguided, and may frustrate / irritate some visitors. So here are the 8 hells:
Quick announcement to say that fellow Brit Richard Shaw has created www.Ishigaki-Japan.com a great new website about Ishigaki and the surrounding islands. Ishigaki is one Okinawa prefectures southern islands. I spent three weeks there a few years ago, and it remains one of my favorite places in Japan. If you haven’t seen them already please check out “ Southern Comfort – Life on Ishigaki Island” and the “A tale of two islands -Taketomi & Iriomote” over at http://www.TRAVEL67.com
There are many aquariums in Japan. They vary in size, quality and role (education / research / entertainment). The Umitamago (Sea Egg) Aquarium in Oita seems to be aimed at entertaining and educating children about the ocean. It is far more hands-on than other aquariums, you can play basketball with the dolphins, feel the leathery skin of dogfish and rays, and even touch “Ponta”, “Mee” and “Bubu” the three resident Walruses. The role of zoos and aquariums in modern society is a complicated issue. Are they little more than animal exploitation with profit the ultimate goal, or do they have a role in educating and inspiring visitors to cherish the oceans and marine creatures from zooplankton to whales?
On Saturday, photographer Ben Simmons will be giving a talk at Tower Records in Shibuya to launch his new book “Tokyo Megacity.” A great opportunity to meet a fantastic photographer. I can’t think of a more appropriate place to launch a book about Tokyo than overlooking Hachiko Crossing! If you’re in Tokyo, check it out and say hello to Ben from me!
Takegawara Onsen is the oldest and the most famous onsen bath in Beppu. For just 100 yen, visitors can strip down, have a wash, then soak in the very hot water. A must for anyone visiting Beppu.
TRAVEL 67 : Chris Willson Photography 