My second trip to Japan of the year provided an opportunity to see more airlines that I don’t normally come across. I had a few hours at Narita waiting for my flight home and these shots are some of those I was not too familiar with. No details here about the airlines. Just a gratuitous posting of airliner shots.
While I was staying in the same hotel as last time during my recent visit to Tokyo, I was on the opposite side of the hotel. This gave me a view across to a large radio mast a couple of kilometers north of Minato. In the early evening, the mast picked up the setting sun quite well. Once things had got dark, it was well illuminated and hard to miss!
Have you ever heard of an airline called Starflyer before? If you have, you are one up on me. I saw these guys at Haneda in Tokyo. I didn’t know anything about them but the black livery they apply to their A320s does make them stand out from the crowd. A few of the planes came in and out while I was there. I guess now I know!
There are a number of high towers in Tokyo. I saw one as I was walking to Shinjuku that seemed rather out of keeping. Most have either a futuristic look or just look like a radio tower. This one was a very large, square, concrete structure. It looked like the sort of thing you might expect to see in Soviet era Moscow rather than Tokyo. A strange looking building.
When the Korean Air 747 pulled away from the gate, the ground crew all lined up to wave goodbye. I loved the personal touch. Not something you ever see in the US. I did wonder how many people on board were looking out of the windows to appreciate this gesture.
On my first visit to Tokyo, a few years ago, I made a brief visit to the park around the Imperial Palace. I decided to take another look during my first visit this year. However, while I knew it was going to be hot (it had been incredibly hot and humid all week) but the exposed area around the palace combined with the beating sun meant it was pretty uncomfortable. There were still plenty of tourists though.
I walked along one side of the palace grounds near the main entrance and then along the moat to some of the more famous viewing locations. I got a few shots as I walked along but it is fair to say I was not totally in to it. After I had got a bit further on, the heat was really getting to me and the desire to be back in the shade overtook any desire to explore further. There was a running club finishing their run which seemed amazing to me as I could hardly handle walking. Time to retreat.
I have been in downtown Dallas a couple of times recently for work. One of the places we have had dinner is across the road from a small park area that has a sculpture of a giant eyeball at one end. It is a bit creepy to be honest. I photographed it on my way to dinner when the sun was still going down. When we came out, it was fully dark so I figured I would get another shot.
The hotel I have used on my recent visits to Tokyo is one of a group of hotels in one location. Between each of the buildings is a garden. It is a peaceful place to hang out (even when it was as hot and humid as it was when I was first there) and it has temples, bells, a lake and lots of places to rest and contemplate. In the evening, it is subtly illuminated providing a very different feel compared to how it is during the day.
On some occasions, music was piped in. One evening there was a guy playing some sort of flute as he wandered around the garden. I assume he was hired to do so rather than just showing up and playing but you never know. He was fighting the noise of the cicadas when it was hot!
A feature of the Japanese countryside is the amount of rice that is growing everywhere you go. I was often amazed to see small sections of rice growing in little spaces between developments of buildings and homes. Further out, where there is more space, the rice fields are substantial. These rice fields were in Ibaraki prefecture. As the sun got lower in the sky, the tops of the plants caught the light nicely as they blew in the breeze. It had quite a peaceful feel to it all.
Part of my exploration of Tokyo involved wandering around some back streets. The city felt so safe, I wanted to see what was going on away from the main activity. The streets were a maze of routes to get around which is hardly surprising given the age of the city. Lots of little shops, bars and homes were tucked away, hardly any great distance from big office buildings. The contrast was quite obvious. People were about but it wasn’t busy. Seeing them on their way at least made me aware that these parts of the city were not devoid of life.
