Tuesday, a gorgeous autumn evening

 Yes, I swooned. 

Fun in Japan 2024 - Vegan and Vegetarian Food

I have dietary constraints, but I was able to eat very well, thanks to temple-style vegan restaurants, a rare Thai restaurant that served the same kind of Thai food we have in California (very vegetarian friendly!), and South Indian foods.  I'm not showing ALL of the meals (I'm omitting hotel breakfasts, snacks, and an AMAZING daal), but despite all the planning and patience required, I did eat well.

This concludes my 'top ten' themes, for the folks who want a peek but not to soak in my travel photos from this trip.

Fun in Kobe 2024 - Sorakuen Garden

I waded through nostalgia as I returned to this garden after a multi-decade gap.

It remains lovely, and well maintained.  Plus: it has autumn color!  And koi.

I sat in a little pavilion on top of a small hill, listening to the sound of a waterfall, and enjoying the views.  It was a satisfying, cooling, aesthetically pleasing visit.  I'm so glad I returned!  (I'm eager to see how my infrared images of this garden turn out...)

Fun in Kobe 2024 - Waterfalls and Emerald Streams

Nunobiki Falls called to me, so I took a cable car up to a local decorative garden, and then hiked to it.  This was a long hike with few other people around, and signage only in Japanese for most of the route.  I was concerned I was lost, but it turns out there is an all-uphill route that visitors favor, while I had chosen the long downhill route.

It is LOVELY.  And the color of the water that goes to Kobe for drinking is GORGEOUS. 

Fun in Tokyo 2024 - Matcha and Wagashi

I was able to enjoy hot matcha with wagashi, a traditional rice-based sweet, in a building on a decorative pond.  It was tasty! It was seasonally decorated! It was... really pleasant.

Fun in Tokyo 2024 - Tokyo Ramen Street

As a religious vegetarian with gluten intolerance, I felt very left-out about the stretch of Tokyo Station dedicated to ramen, that special noodle dish written in foreign characters (but which we think of as exclusively Japanese).  However, vegans recommended a place that wasn't on the Tokyo Station Navi app called Soranoiro Nippon, and I eventually found it!  It has gluten-free brown rice noodles, which can be added to their vegan tan-tan noodle soup.  The soup itself isn't entirely gluten-free, but my condition allows for some minor, incidental gluten, so I went for it.  It was superb - I have no regrets!

Fun in Tokyo 2024 - Lotus Ponds and Temples

There is a famous pond filled with giant lotus plants, and...  I have finally visited it!  And had a chance to see the cool temple that sits within it.

Shinobazuno pond was all I'd hoped for.  And the temple is grand, as well!

Fun in Tokyo 2024 - Art Supply Heavens

Pigment Tokyo is a temple to color, and I was able to visit this famous shop, purchase pigments I want to turn into paints, and wallow in the joy that comes from having countless choices that run the full length of the store.

P.S.  I should show that, shouldn't I?  I'll add one more photo here:

(See what I mean?  And yes, I lost my mind in the best sense.)

I also made a special trip out to Kawachi Art Supplies, where I met the owner in her home studio (downstairs in the building at center bottom), got to see where she makes oil pastels by hand, and purchase a set of them.

  The colors are gorgeous! And the texture is so buttery...  I'm giddy to use these.

Fun in Tokyo 2024 - Dining in a Traditional Building

The Tokyo National Museum has a historic building in its garden, which happens to serve food and contain beautiful ink paintings.  So... I went!  My iced almond milk matcha latte was superb, and my fruit plate contained unusually flavorful fruit.  It was a lovely experience.

Having a chance to dine in a room with tatami mats is special.  This felt special.

Fun in Tokyo 2024 - Immersive Contemporary Art

I was able to go to teamLabs Planets installation.  It was fun to frolic, barefoot, through a warehouse full of art!  Everyone participating appeared to be having such a good time - there was tangible glee in the air (and in the brightly lit water).

Fun in Tokyo 2024 - Shrines

Hello!  [wave] I have returned from a deeply enjoyable trip to Japan, and am still adjusting to our local time zone.

As an overzealous semi-professional photographer, I know that the photo collections I make for myself are packed, perhaps with more enthusiasm for niche topics than people who are more broadly curious can manage.  So, I've made a set of little collages to hit some of the themes.

This is the Kanda Myoujin Shrine, and it is really gorgeous!

Glowing morning

Oh, how I love this time of year... 

Coneflower

Such a lovely color.  Part of me is trying to justify buying more paint, but I can mix this yellow... 

Red and Gold

Glowing festively beneath cloudy skies. 

Somerset (8 October 2024)

I hadn't realized this ship had a Flight 93 tribute on it...  This is the USS Somerset.  And yes, it is SF Fleet Week. 

Reflections (during a heat wave)

Such a pretty morning.  Such decorative clouds.  You know how I am about clouds.

 

Reflections of a Tawny Sky

This reminds me of Van Dyke Brown printing over Cyanotype... 

Another Tuesday, Also Before Sunrise

Oh, this Bay Bridge, this fishing pier, these early mornings... 

Tuesday at Sunrise

What a gorgeous morning.

Every morning we wake up is special (because we are lucky enough to wake up), but some mornings also LOOK and FEEL special.

 

The Blackpool Streetcar (23 Sept 2024)

San Francisco has an antique streetcar collection (of course it does!), and the boat-shaped streetcar from England is SPECIAL. 

Slow, and special.  It only runs on Sundays and Mondays (currently).  I've been turned away from its final trip back to the barn (where the streetcars sleep), because it is a bit slow, and to prevent from slowing down the modern streetcars, the operators take it across town without making passenger stops.

But I saw it coming at the Ferry Building, and optimistically waited.  A group of tourists needed to get off, and so the operators let some of us random passengers board.  And stay on.  Not just to Castro Street, but all the way back to the barn at Balboa Park!!  

So I got to ride the boat all the way across town!  It has been years since I rode it, and this was SPECIAL.  

People WAVED to us.  (We waved back.). People took photos.  People smiled.  It was... charming.

I can't think of a more special form of public transit to take home on a gorgeous day.