Friday 30 November 2018

Nishi Chayagai / Kanazawa

The West Chaya District (西茶屋街, Nishi Chaya-gai) has buildings preserved from the Edo period. A chaya (茶屋, lit. teahouse) is an exclusive type of restaurant where guests are entertained by geisha who perform song and dance. [info source: japan-guide.com]. Kanazawa, Ishikawa-ken, Japan. 

Thursday 29 November 2018

Saigawa / Kanazawa

The Sai River (犀川, Sai-gawa, Sai River), viewed from the Saigawa-Ohashi Bridge. In the distance, the Ryōhaku Mountains. Kanazawa, Ishikawa-ken, Japan. 

Samurai House / Kanazawa

In the Nagamachi (長町) district, situated at the foot of the former Kanazawa Castle. Kanazawa, Ishikawa-ken, Japan. 

Wednesday 28 November 2018

APA Hotel / Kanazawa

APA Hotel Kanazawa-Ekimae. 1 Chome-9-28 Hirooka, Kanazawa, Ishikawa-ken, Japan.

21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art / Kanazawa

Architects: Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of SANAA, 2004. Kanazawa, Ishikawa-ken, Japan.

Tuesday 27 November 2018

Hisagoike Pond / Kenrokuen

View of the Hisago-ike Pond (瓢池) — including tea-house, lantern, stone bridge and Kaiseki Pagoda. Kenroku-en (兼六園) is regarded as one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan. Kanazawa, Ishikawa-ken, Japan. 

Kaiseki Pagoda / Kenrokuen

Stone pagoda, 4.1m high, on a small island in Hisago-ike Pond — the pond fed by a waterfall known as Midoritaki. This area is said to be where Kenroku-en was first started as a garden in early C17. Kanazawa, Ishikawa-ken, Japan.

Monday 26 November 2018

Kimono / Kenrokuen

Young women in traditional dress celebrating Autumn in Kenroku-en (兼六園 lit. "Garden of the Six Sublimities"), Kanazawa, Ishikawa-ken, Japan. 
©2018 All Rights Reserved. Do not use - no release available.

Fan Mural / Ōkura

Folding fan mural on the ground floor of Hotel Ōkura Niigata, Niigata-ken, Japan.

Sunday 25 November 2018

NEXT 21 / Niigata

To the left, with the unusual pinnacle, is NEXT 21 tower, 128m, 21 floors, 1994, designed by Nikken Sekkei and Taisei Corporation. To right, Grand Maison Nishi-Tori Tower (apartments), 112m, 29 floors, 2009. In the Furumachi business district of Niigata, Niigata-ken, Japan. 

Bandai Bridge / Niigata

Third-generation Bandai Bridge (萬代橋 Bandai-bashi), spanning the Shinano River in Niigata City. Ministry of Interior Reconstruction Bureau (Takeo Fukua, Yutaka Tanaka, Katsutake Naruse), 1929. Niigata, Niigata-ken, Japan.

Saturday 24 November 2018

Persimmon / Kakunodate

Has culinary uses in Japan, but left here for autumn colour. Kakunodate, Akita-ken, Japan.

Samurai House / Interior

Interior of a samurai house on Bukeyashiki Street in Kakunodate, where there are some of the best examples of samurai architecture and housing in Japan. Kakunodate, Akita-ken, Japan.

Friday 23 November 2018

Samurai House / Kakunodate

Samurai house on Bukeyashiki Street in Kakunodate, where there are some of the best examples of samurai architecture and housing in Japan. Kakunodate, Akita-ken, Japan.

Nezuneko / Kakunodate

Sign for Nezu-neko coffee/curios shop near the Denshokan Museum, Kakunodate, Akita-ken, Japan.

Thursday 22 November 2018

Ebisu-Daikoku Island / Lake Towada

Lava island with small shrines to the kami Ebisu and Daikoku. Towada Lake lies within a double caldera formed by eruptions 40,000 and 13,000 years ago. Aomori-ken, Japan.

Towada Kanko / Cruise boat

Pleasure cruiser on Lake Towada (十和田湖), a double-caldera lake and the largest crater lake on Honshu. Aomori-ken, Japan. 

Wednesday 21 November 2018

Nebuta House / Aomori

Architects: molo (Stephanie Forsythe + Todd MacAllen), 2011. Centre dedicated to the Nebuta festival, a significant summer event in the city. The building has an envelope of 820 hand-crafted steel ribbons, coated in enamel. Aomori, Aomori-ken, Japan. 

MSCP / Aomori

Mixed-use building, predominantly multi-storey car-parking. 1 Chome-9-5 Furukawa, Aomori-shi, Aomori-ken, Japan. 

Tuesday 20 November 2018

Antique Kanban / Japan

Detail from an antique hanging signboard displayed in the Aomori Museum of History (あおもり北のまほろば歴史館). Aomori-shi, Aomori-ken, Tōhoku-chihō, Japan.

A-Factory / Aomori

JR East Aomori Business Development Company Co. Ltd. / Tsutomu Fujima / Masamichi Katayama, c.2010. Inside, everything to do with apples, including cider tasting — Aomori Prefecture being Japan's largest producer of the fruit. Aomori-shi, Aomori-ken, Tōhoku-chihō, Japan. 

Bay Bridge / Aomori

Architects/Engineers: Kaihatsu-Toranomon Consultant Co., Ltd., 1992. Dramatic cable-stayed bridge of 1219m length. Aomori-shi, Aomori-ken, Tōhoku-chihō, Japan. 

Monday 19 November 2018

Aomori Bay Bridge / Reflection

Reflection of the Aomori Bay Bridge with autumn leaves. Aomori Bay Bridge. Aomori-shi, Aomori-ken, Tōhoku-chihō, Japan. 

'ASPAM' / Aomori

Architects: Nikken Sekkei Ltd., (株式会社日建設計 Kabushiki-gaisha Nikken Sekkei), 1986. The Aomori Prefecture Tourist Center (青森県観光物産館 アスパム) is a 76m tall building in the shape of an A, representing the first letter of Aomori Prefecture and Aomori city. Behind, the equally remarkable Aomori Bay Bridge. Aomori-shi, Aomori-ken, Tōhoku-chihō, Japan.

Sun Mall / Ichibancho

Long-distance shopping arcade, one of several in the city of Sendai. Miyagi-ken, Japan. 

Sunday 18 November 2018

DoCoMo Bldg / Sendai

Architects: NTT Power and Building Facilities, 2004. 150m high, 21 floors above ground, full name: NTT DoCoMo Tohoku Building. Viewed from Kotodai Park, Sendai, Miyagi-ken, Japan. 

Pillar Box / Yamadera

Outside Yamadera (山寺 lit. "Mountain Temple") railway station. Yamagata-ken, Japan. 

Saturday 17 November 2018

Sendai Mediatheque / Lift

Architect: Toyo Ito (伊東 豊雄 b.1941), opened 2001. Interior detail including elevator shaft encased by steel tubes. Jozenji-Dori, Sendai, Miyagi-ken, Japan.

O-Y-P / Sendai

4 Chome Tsutsujigaoka, Miyagino-ku, Sendai-shi, Miyagi-ken, Japan.

Friday 16 November 2018

Lake Chuzenji / Autumn

Autumn colours surrounding Lake Chuzenji (中禅寺湖, Chūzenjiko), at an elevation of 1,269 m (4,124 ft) in the mountains above the town of Nikko. Tochigi-ken, Japan.

Ishidorii / Nikko

Stone torii of 1618 at the front approach to the Toshogu 東照宮 shrine. The Kyushu granite pillars have a shock-absorbing join and the transom is in three sections, all successfully providing earthquake resistance. Designated an Important Cultural Property, within a huge World Heritage Site. Nikko, Tochigi-ken, Japan. 

Shinkyo Bridge / Nikko

The Shinkyo Bridge (神橋, Shinkyō, "sacred bridge") stands at the entrance to Nikko's shrines and temples. The present bridge was constructed in 1636 [info source: japan-guide.com]. Ranked in the top three of Japan's finest bridges and designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Cultural property in 1999. Nikko, Japan. 

Thursday 15 November 2018

Drinks Vending / Tokyo

Hot and cold drinks, alcoholic drinks, soup, snacks, noodles, umbrellas — millions of vending machines in Japan. They also glow cheerily in the night-time streets. Taito-ku, Tokyo, Japan. 

Ueno Station / night

Reconstructed post-WW2 although looking like the 1930 building that was destroyed. The station serves 11 railway lines—mostly Shinkansen—and 2 Metro lines. Taito-ku, Tokyo, Japan. 

'Eve' / by Rodin

1945 bronze cast of Eve from original sculpture made 1907 by Auguste Rodin (1840-1917). Forecourt of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, Japan.

Wednesday 14 November 2018

NMWA / Tokyo

Architect: Le Corbusier, 1959. The National Museum of Western Art (国立西洋美術館 Kokuritsu Seiyō Bijutsukan, Musée National des Beaux-Arts de l’Occident) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the only example of Corbusier's work in the Far East. Taito-ku, Tokyo, Japan. 

Toshogu Shrine / lanterns

Stone lanterns alongside the approach to the C17 Toshogu Shrine (Shinto) in Ueno Park. Ishidōrō first appeared in Japanese temples and shrines in the C6, originally as votive lamps. Now popular in Japanese garden design as well as in religious context. Taito-ku, Tokyo, Japan. 

TNM Heiseikan / detail

Exterior detail of the Tokyo National Museum's Heseikan building, by Yasui Architects Design Office, c.1999. Showing SE elevation stairway from the garden of the Honkan building. Ueno Park, Taito-ku, Tokyo, Japan. 

Tuesday 13 November 2018

National Museum / Tokyo

Tokyo National Museum (東京国立博物館 Tōkyō Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan), established 1872 although moved to this site in Ueno Park in 1882. The present Honkan building designed in the "emperor's crown style" by Jin Watanabe, 1938, replacing an earlier building destroyed by the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. Listed as an Important Cultural Property and Tokyo's oldest national museum. Taito-ku, Tokyo, Japan. 

MOMAT / Tokyo

Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art (東京国立近代美術館 Tōkyō Kokuritsu Kindai Bijutsukan). Original architect: Kunio Maekawa, 1952. Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. 

East Gardens / Imperial Palace

View across the Imperial Palace East Gardens (皇居東御苑, Kōkyo Higashi Gyoen). Beyond are high-rises in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan.

Monday 12 November 2018

Noh Stage / Cerulean Tower

Noh Theatre stage, opened 2001, in basement level B2F of the Cerulean Tower in Shibuya. The modern Noh stage has a pitched roof, bridge with handrail and pine trees, to represent the form's outdoor origins. It is constructed of Japanese cypress timber. Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan. 

OIOI / Ueno

Night view of the Marui (OIOI) department store in Ueno, Tokyo, Japan. 
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