Tomo's Travel Photos

my own photos for online event

2012-02-01T12:22:00.000+09:00

I just attend online event from Canada. I tried to take snapshot with iChat and send to then.
Everybody else online has video connection, so they can play music and talk online. but I could not so I just sent them photos of me. (^_~) sorry had to be early in the morning in Japan to match NY time there, so no make-ups.

A Happy New Year 2012! designs

2011-12-31T16:09:00.002+09:00

Here are the New Year card design that I edited from the loyalty free New Year card design CD.
Happy New Year to all of my friends and acquaintances!
I hope to have a good coming year for you all and to myself for next year!!

From my photo that I took in my area in Osaka Japan.

Kyoto Museum11_08_09 京都国立近代美術館、モホイ＝ナジ　イン・モーション展

2011-08-09T12:58:00.000+09:00

I went to Kyoto contemporary museum.

http://www.momak.go.jp/Japanese/exhibitionArchive/2011/387.html

It was very hot day and I had to stop at the convenience store and eat ice cream. Many tourists were doing the same thing, because there were nice Japanese style benches with a large parasol.
The show was good, but the distance from my house was very far.

Kyoto Tower from Kyoto Station

Heian Jingu shrine torii in the middle of the road.

Reflection of the trii

Trii behind a tree.

design of the Kyoto museum

Furuichi walk あみま古市ウォーク 7/10/2011

2011-07-10T15:06:00.000+09:00

I was walking around historic road from Furuichi Kintetsu line station to Fujidera station. It was very hot summer time on July 10th, and I was sweating and drinking a lot of water. I haven been around, but I never walked around this places.

Hakutyou shrine near Furuichi station.

I crossed the signal to Konda Hachiman shrine.

Higashi koya kaidou, old pilgrimage road south east part of Osaka toward Koyasan mountain.

An entrance of Konda Hachiman shrine.

A phoenix is a symbolic animal derived from Chinese myth.

Another monument for East Koya Kaidou road signs. These stones are also from the ancient time.

Otoritsuka Kofun berial mound from about 6 century.

もじゃハウス！
I love ivy covered houses and buildings!

Old lanterns. It was hard to take photos, because they were at private housing area. I guess it used to be a part of the shrine before.

I liked the rusted sign...

Ok, so there are many sign, car no enter sign, crossing signal, and causion sign and the road sign. So which sign you will see first?!

I wish I had a gut to ask there why they have the huge bowling pin... I should be some factory.

I took a break at the old emperor Yuryaku grave, sitting down and drinking water. Some local woman was looking who the hell hanging around. It a purely local oriented area, no tourists or not many people around, so they feel insecure.

A little path goes under the railway. So did they make railway first or the path?!

This monument is representing that they used to have a Fujidera baseball stadium near Fujidera station. Right now the team has changed their name and own home stadium at different place. This area has become a university campus.

Kamame Festival かまめ祭り2011, 6, 5

2011-06-05T14:27:00.000+09:00

There is an alternative art media center called cocoroom, at Shinimamiya, Osaka. There was a festival there in June, and I walked around the area with other participants.
The area is known as Kamagasaki, homeless, day-job workers, and people under the social security for no income and low income. And there are many benefit apartments there in the town.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamagasaki

But the people are very friendly and lively despite of the low living, and there is a feel of the 1950, 60 of Japan still. In the mid of WWII or after. It is in downtown Osaka, but there is a slow and laid back feel to it.

もつ guts

making pon-pon yarn ball
友人も参加したぽんぽん制作。

Working people songs
不思議な自作の歌。

A Masque
イタリアの仮面劇に習った劇らしいです。

難波屋 Nanbaya It's a bar and music place.
立ち飲みやでジャズとかやっていると聞いた。一度行ってみたい。

A Christian-run homeless help center.
クリスチャンの尼さんが援助している施設。

Over there there is are day job worker commonly known "Sankaku Kouen" triangle park.
ホームレス、日雇いさんの炊き出しの聖地、三角公園
心斎橋以外の三角公園最近知った。

The guide said, why the house is standing angle? Because it used to be a railway truck.
もともとはちんちん電車の線路だったのでななめの道ができたらしい。

I forgot how it says, but it is from China and protect their houses.
テレビによると中国から来た守り神らしい。

I don't know how it is called, but it looks like a clock. 時計のような花。

Chinko? No Pachinko, just my photo joke.

I am not used to the station that there is no ticket machine or conductor.

Grilled meat restaurant signs 焼き肉屋の看板なんかかわいい。♥

I like the graffiti.

In the shopping arcade, the wall is old but nice design.
商店街の店の壁。なかなかモダンなデザイン。

If something is very old, it will become art.
古すぎるとアートに見える。

view from the top of a hotel around Shinimamiya, Dobutsuen station.
Very packed. Downtown Osaka.
新世界周辺の某ホテルの屋上からの長め。さすがに立て込んでいる。奥の方に南港の橋も見える。晴れていて良かった。

I like the old building below.
手前の建物焼けた後か？！

Osaka tower is on the back and public both resort at the next.
通天閣とスパワールドが見える。

My gay protest photo is on a website

2011-05-04T16:01:00.000+09:00

My photography on gay marriage protest was used in the main website at the Minnesota organization. They found me on goggle, so we got connected.

Here is the website.

http://www.mnlove.org/Home.html

More photos in the series.

https://picasaweb.google.com/tomoenk6/GayMarriageProtest#

Charity Concert by Latinos in Kansai 2011/5/1

2011-05-01T11:00:00.000+09:00

I found this post at Nishinari, and I feel like I wanted to help Tohoku people by just enjoying the Latino show, so I went to the Charity Concert. Also, I was curious who are the latino people who live in Kansai area.
There are handmade food, Spanish, Peruvian music and dance, as well as prayers and songs for Tohoku people before starting the show.

以前西成をあるおじさんに案内してもらっていて児童館に行った時に壁に張り紙がしてあった。そこに東北の震災の為のチャリティーコンサートのビラがあった。なぜそんなところにあったか？コンサートは外国人向けの教会にあったから、教会の人がボランティアしている西成でもポスターを配っていたのかもしれない。
最近ラテン系の文化に興味があるので、ボランティアがてらにコンサートに行ってみようと思った。入場料は無料だが寄付を募ってるとの事だった。それに関西にいるラテン系の人ってどんな人がいるか見てみたかった。
行ってみたらフィリピン人、日本人と結婚したペルー人、ただペルーやボリビアの音楽にはまっている日本人などがいた。日本在住が長い、スペイン人の牧師さんが司会をしていた。
ロビーでは手作りの食べ物がいろいろとあった。少々高かったが。始まる前に日本語と英語とスペイン語でお祈りとミサがあって、踊りや音楽があった。ペルーのハープや、スペインのフラメンコ、ボリビアの国際結婚夫婦の踊り、ギター演奏などがあった。
日本ではなかなか見れないショーなので、楽しかった。

Filipino Christian women are singing.

Peruvian harp. 梅田周辺でレストランをしている人だと思います。

It was far and dark to capture, so I took photo on the wall reflecting flamenco dancer.

I think they are a couple who play guitar and dance flamenco together.

Peruvian harp.

After finished the concert at the hall, they were still doing performance at the entrance of the church, and still asking for donation.

Japanese dancers are shorter than they would be in Spain, but they look cute on their costumes.

A guy on the left sing flamenco in Spanish, and he sang very well. I wanted to ask why he could sing good and where he learned about. He spoke good Spanish too and had a lot of experience with latin songs.

Tamateyama walk 2011, 4, 29 玉手山

2011-04-29T13:52:00.000+09:00

Amima walk. あみまウォーク。
I walked to Kashiwara to Domyoji station.
道明寺線の柏原から道明寺駅迄歩きました。

駅長のおすすめハイクがあるんですが、他の人も一緒に歩いているので、競争っぽくなっている。フレンドリーに一緒になって歩いてくれたらいいけど、なんかそういう雰囲気になれる人が少ないのが面白くない。

I like walking around by myself and collect stamps at Kintetsu stations.
自分的にはメンバー付属の地図で自分でまわってスタンプを貯めるのが好きです。

It seemed strange that there is a chimney in the middle of housing area with no factory building or anything.

I realized that I walked up on the road of highway. I do not normally drive on a freeway, so it is rare to see freeway, so I took the photo.

An entrance gate of Tamateyama park. 玉手山公園の入り口ゲート。
I entered from the back gate. 裏口から入って入り口から出た。

Kashiwara Tamate Post Office.
I liked the picture on the shutter of the post office. High school girls were looking and wondering why I shot the small post office. (I guess they are used to it, so they wondered.)

Walking by the Ishikawa river towards Domyoji.

I crossed the bridge to walk towards Domyoji station.

This year's rabbit votive board.

Asuka 2011, 4, 16 樫原神宮から飛鳥迄

2011-04-16T11:00:00.000+09:00

I went to see cherry trees at Ishibutai Kofun, which is located at the southrn part of Nara prefecture Japan. I walk with a walking map for the exercise.

Asuka is an ancient capital from about 6 - 8 century, so there are many old temple, ruins and Buddha statues etc. Right now the clean up the ancient road along the rice pad, so that tourist can walk around or ride rental bikes (which you can rent at Kashiwara Jingu and Asuka stations) around the area.

Even it was still cold during April, I felt good to walk around the vast area of the country side of Nara.

I will add the link of Asuka period as a reference of the history of Asuka area.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asuka_period

Taking pictures from the bus that I got on at Kashiwara Zingumae station.
樫原神宮前駅からバスに揺られて。

A Japanese tea cafe near Asuka temple. 飛鳥寺近くの茶屋

There are a lots of cheery trees at Ishibutai Kofun (burial mound). Ishibutai means stone stage. The stone hole used to be ancient king's grave. There are many history lovers as well as tourists and neighbors who enjoy cherry flowers.
石舞台古墳でお花見。

You can compare the size of stone with these people.
A guy on the right looking a hole underneath inside.

Somebody put flower for the ancient grave.
The flowers seemed to look new.

A side view. There were people inside. It has hight than you think.

The line in the middle on the ground is a ditch. That suggest of their technology of irrigation at 6 century.

Rape blossoms are also beautiful along the hill. After the Ishibutai, I walked up the road to Oka temple.

There was a sign of Oka dera temple, so I went down the stairs.
岡寺の標識を階段を下に。

And I went up the hill...

There was a small ryokan (Japanese style hotel) along the way...

And next to it there was a Japanese style snack and tea. I felt hot and tired, so I almost wanted to go in...

It is an entrance of Oka dra temple. It is a part of pilgrimage temple from the old time.

Amazingly it looks like a zen garden, but it is just a design on the roof top by the stairs.

I should not take the picture inside, so I took a couple from outside. There were more buddha statues inside.

There was a saying there were sizes of the real Buddha feet.

I felt interesting to see moss clothes on the zizo.
苔の服を着たお地蔵さん。

I felt chilly like there was a ghost when I saw the buddha in the little cave. Maybe lots of people pray to it, so there were many desires piling in there, you know what I mean? heavy.

I loved the wave of cherry flowers.

A white plum flower.

The area of the Oka temple huge while it was in the hidden place by mountain.

A tiger god at the gate?

Now I went to Tachibana temple 30 minutes walk from Oka temple.
There was some treasure houses there. This is a statue of prince Syotoku. 所得太子の像。
It looked kind of bizarre.

These two stones together are called as Saruishi. Monkey stones. This opens mouth and another one close mouth. They implies as a-un in buddhist practice meaning states of harmoney.

Over view of Tachibana temple area.

So cute 2 colors of pinks on one tree!

亀石 It is called tortoise stone. There was a rest area and souvenir shop there.

Another ancient grave stone

Other monkey stones at an emperor grave.

Finally I arrived at Asuka station. I walked about 5 - 6 kilos only puls visiting temples, ruins and taking pictures. I felt exhausted.

Cherry Trees in My Town, 4/9/2011

2011-04-09T00:11:00.000+09:00

Here are the pictures of cherry tress in my town. I took in the rain and it has got like a filter effect. I want to share with you all, because I want to show that Osaka is safe as it looks. No earthquake or no radiation or electric problems.

Please enjoy.

A park near my house.

Entrance of burial mound park.

Please leave a comment what you think of them. Thanks.

Thanks for your support. 3/11/11

2011-03-14T14:32:00.000+09:00

About Japanese earthquake and tunami.

I have been getting emails and SNS message on concern about me and Japan.

Thank you very much for your prayers and concern.

I personal am ok in mountain area of Osaka. There is no earthquake at all and me and my family and peace as normal.

Thank you very much.

Tomoe

Ume trees in my town

2011-03-07T14:00:00.000+09:00

Here are Ume trees (plum) at the Kohun (burial mound) park in my town. It was raining a lot so they bloom faster this year. I went there when there were a little bloom, but there are many ume trees and it was beautiful when they bloomed all. Some people had a picnicking under the trees.

Takitani 12/28 2010 滝谷不動年末のお参り

2010-12-28T12:00:00.000+09:00

I went to visit Takitani fudo with my parents. Every 28th of the month they have street vendors from the river to the temple, selling food, knives (made around there), clothes, accessories. I go there sometime to see the vendors. Here are some photos from the date.

Takitani Fudou main temple

This is their symbol color cloth.

The fox god for your health.

fox gods are inside.

Post office out in the shrine area. You can get the special stamp to mail from.

my mother Chieko

frogs are watching over you. (^_~)

Fudo god

zizo for the dead baby

2 story pagoda

Lookout temple

a shrine festival appears once a month.

reasonable underwear?! These are for older women, so I am not interested in though. ;p )

Zizo

太子町ウォーキング Taishicyo walking 10/11/13

2010-11-13T22:53:00.000+09:00

Walking with Amima map around Osaka Taishityo old town. 太子町。

I hook up with Syotoku taishi prince from 6 century Japan Tobidashi boya board (Watch Out caution board), and took a lots of them.
聖徳太子の飛び出し坊やの写真を撮るのにはまった。路上観察だ！

Asuka Wine 飛鳥ワイン株式会社　It was close that day, but I wanted to taste it.

It was out of season, but all there is vineyard.

Kannonzuka burial mound

Vineyard from tomb view

Moving forward

Coming back to Kamino Taishi Station Kintetsu line 近鉄線上ノ太子駅

Crossing Asuka river bridge 飛鳥川橋

And crossing Matsumoto bridge 松本橋を渡る。

Over there there is a new high way.

A prince Shotoku caution board 聖徳太子飛び出し坊や

竹内街道、太子温泉 Takenouchi old path

A map of Takenouchi path.

What amazed me was that they intentionally built to face Nizyozan mountains which they thought as their gods.
この神社の鳥居はわざと二上山に向かって建てられているんです。神秘。

They worship flogs at this shrine.

Many prince Shotoku signs there!! 聖徳太子のコスプレがいっぱい！！

Another Prince Shotoku sign be careful crossing that road, he says. (^_~)
聖徳太子とびだしぼうや、というより「横断歩道は手を挙げて！」、と言ってます！

Shotoku Taishi statue in a hidden temple.

A Shotoku Taishi grave. 聖徳太子の墓。

wicked devil stamped by a guardian god

Price Shotoku saying Sayonara.
聖徳太子が「また来てね」と言ってます。

「和をもって貴しとなす。」"Harmoney is precious." That is price Shotoku said at the time.

Saihouin Temple up there.

Saihouin entrance. 西方院

I included myself in the mirror. Self-portrait.

Keep following the arrow.

See how country my area is....

There is a 入 (enter) sign at the old house. I thought that is funny.
なぜか家の前に「入」の標識が！不思議だったので撮った。

Oyamasakisansou museum 10/10/23 大山崎山荘

2010-10-23T22:39:00.000+09:00

There is Tadao Ando design museum in a compound with an original Oyamasaki villa. They exhibit antique, and Western modern art. The view from the cafe from the second floor of the villa is splendid. It is in the North part of Japan 20 minutes from Kyoto. There is a huge designed garden both western and Japanese style that visitors are freely walking around.

You need to pay the fee to go inside of the museum, but just to visit the garden is free of charge, so mothers with children were picnicking and playing around the garden at the bottom of the villa.

Around the area, there is an old temple that store very important Buddhist statues.

Red Thunder the cargo train I don't normally see, so I took it from the JR train.

After a while passing of Osaka station, the train passed in a mountain area.

I went across the railway to the other side.

An old map of Tennouzan mountain.

It said entrance to the Tennozan mountain.

A map tennozan mountain.

If I had more time, I would be crazy exploring in the odd recycle store.

Not sure it could call cearn display or not?!!!

Edo period area map.

A gate to the Oyamasaki villa.

The gate had a nice design.

The cottage was hidden behind trees.

There was a koi pond and there was some building with a tower inside the garden.

The building over the pond is private property and I could not go in.

Nice arch design.

I should have asked to somebody, but there were two sheep installation in the garden.

Here is the close-up view with the tower.

My favorite reflection sky. Ando Tadatoshi architecture.

Looking up the villa's balcony from the back garden. It was where I drank coffee at a cafe.

This is information center before the villa.

Houseki-ji temple near by.

Just took it, because it has the same name with a idol Japanese singer Tatsuya Yamaguchi.

Niozou. "A" 阿

Niouzou, "Un うん"

Houseki-ji temple sign

Doumyo-ji new year, 2010 道明寺天満宮、大阪府

2010-10-16T19:39:00.000+09:00

Doumyo-ji new year, 2010 道明寺天満宮、大阪府

New year visit at Doumyo-ji shrine and temple in Osaka.

entrance of Domyo-ji shopping arcade

Tottori sand dune sand sculpture exhibition 鳥取砂丘砂の彫刻 2010

2010-09-26T11:44:00.000+09:00

I traveled to Tottori for a couple of days, and had a chance to see Sand sculpture, I have been wanting to see. This exhibition has been held for many years already, and this year, the theme was Africa. The artists were selected from many countries around the world.

Tottori sand dune ahead is the Japan Sea

Many people hike up there, and over the hill you can do sand boarding, and camel ride.

Some people are playing with kites.

An orangutan

History of exploring Africa

I like the 3Dness of the jeep.

Gathering all African animals. It seems hard to make.

What are they looking?

Diva is watching them working...

Mr. Nelson Mandela.

Here is the interior of the exhibition.

They are also some outside exhibition.

All kinds of African masks. Interesting cultural display.

This is another artists more like western style and story by the exit door.

Kuromon Market, Osaka, 12/29/09'

2010-09-21T17:48:00.000+09:00

12/29/09', I went to Kuromon Market （黒門市場）Osaka. At the end of the year, people go to the market to buy New Year food. Especially this market is popular for selling, Fugu fish (globefish) It is a poisonous, and need a license to fish and cook. People in Osaka, Kyusyu area eat the globefish soup. (I don't. It is kind of grotesque.)

上海新天地
Chinese mall

Naoshima island 2008 8/12/08

2010-09-13T18:11:00.000+09:00

Here are continuing photo set of trip to Naoshima in 2008.
I took on 8/12/2008.

Sunrise at Naoshima 直島の日の出

先日ここのミクストメディアを描きました．

彫刻

カニ

カニ２匹

崇徳天皇の墓？

かわった石神さん．

25番札所

城跡

家プロジェクトのガラス彫刻

大竹伸郎の作品　中は家ごとコラージュ

巨大な自由の女神がコンニチハ．

家の側壁

ボランティアガイドのおじさん．写真を撮らせてもらった．

家の反射をミラーに映して．

Naoshima city hall
トイレを借りに入った．(笑）

Naoshima island 2008

2010-08-19T11:48:00.001+09:00

Here are photos from trip to Naoshima island in 2008.
This is 8/11.

more images of Naoshima trip: http://www.flickr.com/photos/galicias/sets/72157624603270381/
or
http://picasaweb.google.com/tomoenk6/Naoshima08_08_1112#

Cicada in my garden

2010-08-01T15:24:00.001+09:00

It may be hard to see them, but I just want to tape their (cicadas) loud noise in my garden. They are actually a lot and I cannot hear TV because of their voice. They came out every summer, but more numbers lately.

Nara Kojukuji 奈良　興福寺　7/20/10

2010-07-20T16:40:00.000+09:00

I went to Kofukuji temple last July during the event of

the anniversary of Nara Heijo-kyo Capital in 2010.

I arrived at Kintetsu Nara station and ate lunch at Indian (Nepal? I forgot) restaurant in the arcade. And walked towards the Sarusawa no ike pond which is behind Kohukuji temple.

Celebrating the 1300th anniversary of Nara Heijo-kyo Capital in 2010

平城遷都2010

http://www.1300.jp/foreign/english/index.html

Sento kun at Nara Station せんとくん

Temple on post box

Sarusawa pond 猿沢池

Kohukuji pagoda on pond 猿沢池の反射と興福寺の塔

Nara Kohuku-ji 奈良　興福寺　7/20/10 part 4

2010-07-20T16:16:00.000+09:00

After done touring around Kofuku-ji temple, and Buddhist statue museum, I am heading back to JR station.

On the electric pole, I found deer illustration which deer consider as a god at Nara.

People can rent a bike to tour around Nara. There is a traditional architecture Japanese tea house by the pond. At the edge of the pond, there is a map board of Nara city, and there is an information center that might answer your questions in Japanese and English.

I like the clock tower that has a Japanese old style stone roof. If seems like any public architecture has Japanese style tile roof, including a mail box I showed in another blog post.

The flags by stairs are for sighning of Fudo god shrine. Fudo is Acalanatha in Hidu, and they sets up at both Japanese shrines and temples.

They just renewed JR Nara train station building in 2010. The station building is also looks like a temple building, and it has heavy and solemn feel.

You can go to Nara from both JR and Kintetsu lines. I think JR line is more convenient to downtown Osaka and Kyoto city, but from famous temples in Nara, Kintetsu line is closer. Because Kintetsu lines are built by famous temple and hiking roads, which seems to me like ancient pilgrimage railway.

Deer electric pole

Old style tea house

Nara city map and clock tower

Information Center inside

Sarusawa pond

JR (Japan Railway) Nara Station building

Fudoumyouou Flags 西国札所

Clock tower with stone roof

Nara Kohuku-ji 奈良　興福寺　7/20/10 part 3

2010-07-20T12:01:00.000+09:00

Continue walking around Kohuku-ji area... Walking at the East low area there is 3 story pagoda. And when I went upstairs to the wider area, they are 5 story pagoda, and other Buddhist temples and museum that exhibit different famous Buddhas from 5-6 centuries.

In summer 2010, it was very summer hot day like this year, and it was a blue sky and it has cumulonimbus clouds appearing like cotton candies, so I felt like I wanted to include pagoda and sky in my pictures. White moon was there too, and I tried to capture to put by side of the pagoda. You can see very tiny moons though.

moon and pagoda

Nara Kohuku-ji 奈良　興福寺　7/20/10 part 2

2010-07-20T00:12:00.000+09:00

Continue wondering around Kohuku ji. Date 7/20/2010
After leaving Sarusawa Pond, I am heading up to Kohuku-ji temple. By side of the stairs, there are zizos and deers near little temple buildings on the way.
I tried to take photos of deer. One looked at me, but when I took pictures, he/she looked down. tricky.

シカちゃん写真撮る時何回撮ってもなかなかカメラ見てくれなかった。
動物はムズイ。

(I recognized blogger has new format that I am writing now.)

I have never seen Maria looking zizo child. Normally zizo child also has a bald hair.

Nara deer is sacred like and Nara people treated as animal god.