I passed this locomotive several times while in Tokyo. It was sitting in a square near Shinbashi station. I never got off but I did finally get some shots of it while we were stopped at the station. Consequently, I know nothing about it although I suppose if I was truly interested I could look it up. There must be something about it on the internet. It probably has a Wikipedia page. Guess I won’t find out though.
The A-4 Skyhawk is a great little jet and I really miss seeing the Warbird Heritage Foundation’s Scooter on a regular basis. I haven’t seen others fly for quite a while, despite one being based on Boeing Field. I had intended to go to a show at Tacoma Narrows to see it but the weather was bad so I didn’t bother. This one had taxied out at Olympia last year and then scrubbed. However, it was scheduled for Skyfair this year so I was hoping to finally have some success.
Indeed I did. Not only did I see it fly at Skyfair but I was lucky enough to be at Paine Field the evening before when it came in from Boeing Field. It was fashionably late but this only improved the light so I wasn’t complaining. The two-seater might not look quite as slick as the single but it is still a pretty neat jet. The passes it gave at Skyfair were nice and close and, despite the harsh heat haze, I was pleased to see it up and about.
Point Defiance Park had a rose garden that seemed worth a visit. Walking in to the garden I was immediately struck by the fragrance of the flowers. Some roses are a lot more fragrant than others but, stick enough of them together and you are going to get a strong smell. Roses are interesting in how many varieties that they come in. Some look exactly like you might imagine a rose while others are very different in shape.
The garden was laid out around a central point with rows of blooms curving around the middle. They were attracting human and insect visitors in large quantities. Some blooms seemed to be quite persistent while others looked like they reached their peak before quickly wilting and being replaced by another bloom.
We had entered the garden from one side but on the other was a more structured entrance which took you through an arch covered in multiple blooms. The concentration of flowers made it visually striking. Also, having the light coming through from above meant that the flowers were backlit which made for a nice look and a filtered color of light inside the tunnel. Hardly a person passed without taking their own photo.
Hyakuri might be a base for Phantoms but it also comes with a ton of Kawasaki T-4s. The JASDF allocate T-4s to the squadrons to provide utility and training so you see a few of them on each of the ramps in squadron markings. I think this was the first time I had seen a T-4 for real. Having seen so many images of them over the years, I felt like I must have seen them but I don’t think I have. It is an interesting looking jet. A lot of similarity to the configuration of the Alpha Jet with a high wing and twin engines. It seemed to have a reasonable level of performance. Interestingly, they taxied with the canopy open which is something I don’t think I have ever seen done with the Hawk. Maybe the air conditioning isn’t great on the ground or maybe they just like it!
An abiding memory of Japan was the vending machines in every place. It seemed like every building had a vending machine for drinks by the front door. Even the least active looking building still seemed to have one. They came in handy when it was hot although I was often taking a guess as to what I was actually buying!
This 777 pulled onto the gate in front of my while I was at Haneda. The radome seems to have taken a bit of punishment. It looks a bit like some of those shots you see of jets that have gone through a hail storm. I don’t know whether that is the case for this one and it has, no doubt, been checked and found to be airworthy but it certainly looked out of keeping.
Sitting out by Lake Washington watching the boat and floatplane traffic also provided a view of the local residents fishing. These residents aren’t the humans on the pier with fishing poles. These are the ospreys. There are lots of ospreys that are around the north end of the lake at this time of year. They are circling overhead looking for targets and then swooping down to catch them.
It is not usual to get them making their catch close in but sometimes you can see them diving in the grab a fish. However, when they catch something, they do head back passed the shore as they make their way to their nests. A fish tucked under their body and held in a forward alignment to make it easier to fly with is not a rare sight. You also can get them circling overhead as they look for some food but I guess nothing too tasty was near me.
The FHCAM FW-190 is one I have seen on the ground a few times but I have been thwarted with regard to it flying. It was scheduled to fly at Skyfair so I was optimistic. While waiting for the Skyhawk to arrive, we were pleased to see the 190 taxi out and depart. Hopefully it would be a short test flight and after a few minutes, it came back into the overhead. A very nice early turn to final brought it around the waiting crowd and there was much rejoicing!
On the day of the show it flew again. A nice bunch of passes and some good maneuvers to give us a view of the topside of the glossy paint scheme. The light was a touch harsh but the plane was definitely worth it. Combine that with the extra from the evening before and this will count as a success for me.
I was taking it easy as I walked through Yoyogi Park. The intense heat and humidity meant I was trying to minimize my effort. That was not the case for everyone, though. I was amazed at how many people were out running in the park. Given the conditions, they must have been really feeling it as they ran but this didn’t seem to be a deterrent. Kudos to them all. My stroll was a bit much for me but I only had a narrow window to be there so I had no choice!
Japanese jets have a reputation for interesting colors and, while the fighter units were pretty dull gray, the recce jets were far more interesting. Most of the flying jets I saw were in the blue camo scheme and they look very nice. One the first wave I saw, there was also a jet in green and brown camo. Sadly it only flew once and I messed up a bunch of my shots. The other scheme on the ramp was a green and grey scheme that looked a lot like the old German colors. Sadly, it stayed on the ramp the entire time I was there.
