This wasp was hanging around on one of the towers when I was at Hyakuri. It was a rather meaty looking wasp and I figured it would not be a good thing to get on the wrong side of. Wasps have a reputation for being bad tempered things and, whether this is true or not, I was keen to avoid finding out how this one felt. I gave it a wide berth just to be sure. Bees may be cute and useful but wasps just seem like they are going to bring trouble.
These Phantoms were taxiing towards me from the ramp and they headed out to depart. As the came along the taxiway, I got a moment as they started to merge from my position and, briefly, there was a moment when one was hidden behind the other with the exception of the wings. For that second I had a Phantom bi-plane in front of me before the effect was gone. I consider this the rare Phantom II/IV!
I know a few of the regulars here are interested in trains. I saw a lot of different trains and rode on a few while I was in Japan so here are a selection of them for those of you that are interested. Most of these were shot around Tokyo itself but I can’t tell you what sort of services most of them were used on. I only rode on a few to get to airports or districts in the city.
While at Haneda, I saw a Vietnam Airbus A350 on approach. I think their livery is a great change from the bland look of most airlines. Unfortunately, it was a long way off so not something I could get a good shot of. When I was waiting to head home at Narita, the Vietnam A350parked at the gate right in front of me. Hurrah? Nope. It was a Skyteam special so was a rather less interesting silver scheme. Still better than average but disappointing compared to what it could have been.
The Sammamish River Trail runs through Woodinville and heads south towards Redmond or west through Bothell. We decided to try it out one weekend day. We were not alone as there were plenty of walkers and even more bikes. It was a pretty warm day and sections of the trail are exposed which made it hot. However, as we got closer to Bothell, tree cover meant it was a lot more comfortable. Plenty of people were also on the river in kayaks and canoes so the river does seem to attract a lot of users in one form or another.
Haneda introduced me to a new airline. Air Do. They had a lot of traffic coming through Haneda, both narrowbody and widebody. In fact, one of their 767s took off in great light as I was walking to the viewing terrace which was a touch frustrating. It was a long time before another one took off but at least the evening light improved so the wait was worthwhile. Meanwhile, the 737s were busy and some 767s taxied past after landing so I got to see a few of them in action.
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!
