The world is so Kalandrakas…

The Flickr Tokyo Photo Session (FTPS) group had last month’s photo walk in Arisugawa-no-miya Memorial Park in Minami-Azabu, Tokyo. [Map]

History
Arisugawa-no-miya Memorial Park was originally the urban villa of a feudal lord, Minonokami Nambu. In 1896 it was acquired by the noble Arisugawa-no-miya family. However, as Japan modernized, more and more importance began to be placed on the role of nature in educating children, and the family donated the land to Tokyo city in 1934 as a park for that purpose.Tokyo city set to work redeveloping it, and Arisugawa-no-miya Memorial Park was born in the same year. In 1975, the Tokyo metropolitan authority transfered the administration of the park to the local ward office of Minato. (Source: japanvisitor.com)

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Father and son on a small bridge in the park.

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A bike is parked near the stream.

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Ume, or the Japanase plum, has started to bloom.

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Just me playing with reflection on the pond.

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The FTPS group walking in the park.

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Group photo by ndavid .

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Click here if you are interested in joining the future photo walks by FTPS.

Japan, as a non-Christian country, does not celebrate Christmas. December 25th is not a national holiday. But Japanese people, as great lovers of festivals and celebrations, try to celebrate it in a commercial way. Local government and big companies decorate parks and buildings with colorful illumination.

Last Saturday, I went to Tokyo Midtown, Shiodome, and Tokyo Tower to see the illuminations in these places. (Click here to check where you can see more illuminations).

Grass Square “Starlight Garden” in Tokyo Midtown

Illuminated balls in Sakura-dori in Tokyo Midtown

Capturing the sea of illumination in Caretta, Shiodome.

Also, Christmas in Japan is a perfect day to spend with your lover.

Caretta OCEAN Xmas 2009 in Shiodome

Tokyo Tower’s Light Down Story

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Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

–Jesslee

Rikugien Garden, in Bunyo-ku, Tokyo, is one of the best-preserved Japanese landscape gardens of the Edo period. The name, Rikugi-en, came from “six elements of Waka poems” that had been derived from “six styles of poems” written in the old Chinese poetry book “Mao-shi”.

The garden is most beautiful in the autumn season because trees are being illuminated with colorful lights at night. Last Sunday, I, with the the FTPS group, visited the garden and it was awesome.

iMorpheus taking a photo of a couple in the garden using a keitai.

The garden has everything a traditional Japanese garden is supposed to: a large central pond, teeming with golden carps and sluggish turtles, fantastical islands, crooked rustic bridges over gurgling streams, man made hills, symbolizing the sacred Japanese mountains, and moss-encrusted stone lanterns. Along the path that goes round the pond, 88 landscapes from famous Japanese poems are reproduced in miniature. — Tokyo Japan Guide

A lot of people flock there to take pictures of the colorfully-illuminated momiji trees.

And, of course, take photos of themselves with the illumination as background.

Also, a few stop-by the traditional wooden teahouses, hidden among the majestic trees, to have some light snacks, sweets and tea.

Two weekends ago, I, with 3 photo buddies, had an early morning photowalk again. This time in Kabukicho at around 5:30 in the morning.

Kabukichō is an entertainment and red-light district in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. Kabukichō is the location of many hostess bars, host bars, love hotels, shops, restaurants, and nightclubs, and is often called the “Sleepless Town”. The district’s name comes from late-1940s plans to build a kabuki theater: although the theater was never built, the name stuck. — Wikipedia

There are still nanpa activities in this early morning. A nanpa is a way to pick up girls in Japan. To know how it works, check Nampa – Japanese for Picking Up by Neil Duckett.

We walked through Shinjuku Golden Gai and we could still hear people laughing while having some chat inside the shanty-style bars and clubs.  Learn more about the Golden Gai here: Old-world left in a Big City, Shinjuku’s Golden-gai

Kabukicho is a notorious place known for a lot of illegal activities like prostitution, illegal drug trafficking, and other crimes. A number of business establishments here are owned by yakuzas and Chinese triads. The photo below is the most famous police box throughout Japan for having been featured a couple of times in TV documentary shows.

Thanks to my friends: Mika, Kyoko, and Naoto for joining me in this walk.

Tanabata was originally about a Chinese love story of a princess and a cowherd being separated by the king.  Traditionally in present-day Japan, people celebrate Tanabata by writing their wishes on colorful, small strips of paper called tanzaku…

…and hang them on bamboo branches…

The streets are decorated with huge colorful  hanging lanterns which kids enjoy watching…

…especially at nights when these lanterns are being lighted.

This was during the Tanabata Festival in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa. This is the biggest Tanabata festival held in the Kanto Area. The most famous one is held in Sendai.

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