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.
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Here’s an email I received today from a friend based on Ishigaki (one of Okinawa’s southern islands). I’ve just discovered the power of Ishigaki’s mould. I left my favorite macro lens out on the desk for about 2 weeks….every day I told myself that I should pack it away before it gets mouldy. I finally got around it to and guess what – inner element completely smeared with mould which looks like it might have cut into the glass. How stupid. Lesson learned. I really need to get some dry-storage, especially as I’m about to buy a nice Tokina 11-16mm wide lens which I really don’t want to suffer the same fate. Mould is a serious problem in Okinawa, especially during rainy season. Lenses and film are particularly vulnerable. A mouldy lens can be sent to a specialist for cleaning but more than likely the mould will have etched itself into the coatings and a repair will be more than the cost of the lens. I imagine mould could easily create havoc on a digital sensor. The cheap solution is to store …
It’s hard to see on the smaller images but this crop shows just how dangerous this event is. The rear of the tree is off the ground and there are several limbs and at least one head near the rapidly closing gap between trunk and ground.
Although I started scanning the images from my trip in order, I grew impatient and skipped to the grand finale. The Onbashira Festival took place on last few days of my travels, and was the big event the entire trip had been planned around. The festival takes place every 7 years. Huge tree trunks that will be used to rebuild the local shrine are dragged from the forest to the town. The route, however, includes a treacherous steep slope. The locals rather than use the slope as a respite from dragging, have made it a test of bravery, machismo, and it would appear, sanity. This is an important traditional festival in Japan, but it does come at a cost. People are often injured and fatalities do occur. I photographed the event on the Friday and Saturday. On the Sunday, while I was flying back to Okinawa, one of the participants was killed. I hope the photographs give some idea of the spectacle. The following series comes from Saturday afternoon.
Twenty minutes west of Beppu is Mount Takasaki National Park. The park is famous for the group of wild monkeys that live on the mountain. Throughout the day, park staff feed the monkeys barley so visitors are literally surrounded by wild monkeys. Unlike at a zoo, when the visitors leave and the feeding stops, the animals can retreat to the depths of the forest.
See a larger, readable, scan of the page here.
