In March, during the annual migration of humpbacks past Okinawa, I had an article in Dragonair’s Silkroad magazine on whale watching. Only some of the photos are mine as I didn’t have any great whale breaching images for the client, but text and some pics will do this time. The new home / office looks out from Motobu towards Sesoko Island so hopefully next March I’ll be able to do some whale watching from the garden.
A recent feature on Okinawan shisa in Horizon magazine. If you’re relaxing on the ocean with Star Cruises check it out!
Tokyo Skytree, at 634m the world’s tallest free-standing broadcasting tower. At least it was in 2011, but no doubt it will not keep the position for long. After taking the shinkansen from Nagaoka to Ueno I had intended on having a relaxing lunch, before taking the train to Narita. However on arrival at Ueno Station. the sky was crystal clear, and I could clearly see the Skytree. I ignored the hunger pangs and jumped on the Ginza line to Asakusa. Spent 20 minutes shooting on the banks of the Sumida River, then jumped back on the metro to Ueno.
For more than a thousand years, Kyoto was the imperial capital of Japan. Tokyo may now be the center of business and government, but Kyoto remains as Japan’s spiritual and historic heart. Kyoto is a busy vibrant city with a population of over 1.4 million people. Like any other Japanese metropolis it has an eclectic mix of old and new, with ancient shrines dwarfed by skyscrapers and department stores. Kyoto, however, has managed to retain far more of its past than other, more modernized, Japanese cities. It was spared the ravages of aerial bombardment during World War II, and has survived-relatively unscathed-the tsunami of concrete and architectural monstrosities that followed the war. Hidden amongst the contemporary buildings are secret gardens, shrines and temples. Along the narrow alleyways of Gion, visitors can sip jasmine tea and wait for a fleeting look at Asia’s most iconic figure, the geisha. It would be impossible to see all that Kyoto has to offer in a single year, let alone a few days. There is not just one temple, but hundreds …
Hokkaido is the northernmost of Japan’s four main islands, and its final frontier. It has a quarter of the country’s landmass, but only one twentieth of its population. Large sections of the island are national parks where foxes, deer and brown bears outnumber people. Visitors come during winter to ski, and during summer to camp, hike and soak in hot spring pools. Hokkaido provides an escape from modern Japan to an almost primordial time. Amidst volcanoes, geysers and ice flows visitors can experience the ancient, wild side of Japan. Winter Attractions Skiing and Snowboarding Hokkaido’s winter weather is strongly influenced by the cold winds blowing in from Siberia. In Sapporo, the temperature regularly drops to -5°C, and further east, away from the ameliorating affects of the ocean, it gets as low as -30°C. The winters bring a lot of snow, and the big dumps of fluffy powder make the island’s ski resorts the best in Japan. Sapporo hosted the 1972 Winter Olympics, but until recently, Hokkaido’s excellent skiing and boarding was not well known outside …
Flowers of the Red Powder Puff, Calliandra haematocephala known locally as obenigoukan. Flowering in Yomitan Village, Okinawa, Japan.
Dr. Andrew Weil is the director of the Program in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona. He’s been on the cover of Time magazine, written several best selling books and was recently described as one of the twenty most influential people in America. During his visit to Okinawa I talked to him briefly about his thoughts and views on healthy living and the longevity of Okinawans. What do you think are the major problems with the western diet? “Too much meat and animal products in general. Too few vegetables and too few fruits, the wrong kind of fats especially too much refined vegetable oil, margarine and artificially hardened fats, and too few of the Omega-3 fats from fish. Also too much refined carbohydrates, highly processed wheat flour and in general too much processed food, not enough fresh natural food, I’d say they were the main problems.” What can we learn from the Okinawan diet? “Many more vegetables and a greater variety of vegetables, more legumes especially soy and other special Okinawan foods, goya and …
TRAVEL 67 : Chris Willson Photography 