Life in Japan

turtle

2012-01-16T09:38:00.001+09:00

turtle, a photo by Ginger Jive Turkey on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
A turtle making its way up for a breath of fresh air.

Panasonic LX3 with Underwater Camera Bag Dekapak WP610

Adolfin

2012-01-04T08:17:00.001+09:00

Adolfin, a photo by Ginger Jive Turkey on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
It was an interesting week that led up to this shot. Prior to going to Hawaii I booked a boat ride to swim with wild dolphins, the company seemed quiet eco-heavy with plenty of references to the film "the Cove". My girlfriend had always wanted to swim with dolphins and I was worried she may being Japanese I wondered if she may be subjected to questioning about her opinion on the film. So with this in mind we watched the Cove and a massive "debate" ensued over the next couple of days. She was enraged over the bias of the documentary claiming it to be an attack on Japanese culture, it was interesting as she is not very opinionated but it reflects the "why are you attacking us" nationalistic line a lot of people take when issues like this or whaling arise.
Still we went on the trip and got to see these guys up close, even hear them communicating under the water it was the perfect xmas present for her. Still she feels the attacks against Japan are unjust but has a lot more sympathy for the cause. I wonder what the difference would be if a Japanese documentary maker had made the Cove.

north shore

2012-01-03T08:38:00.001+09:00

north shore, a photo by Ginger Jive Turkey on Flickr.

thinker

2012-01-01T12:27:00.001+09:00

thinker, a photo by Ginger Jive Turkey on Flickr.

hard to imagine that this is the same beach that during the day is crowded with people of all nationalities. Still by the time the sun starts to set most people have scarpered off to have a Mai Tai in one of the many beach bars as alcohol is not allowed on the beach, leaving some of us to reflect.

waikiki

2011-12-31T10:01:00.001+09:00

waikiki, a photo by Ginger Jive Turkey on Flickr.

passing through

2011-12-30T09:34:00.001+09:00

passing through, a photo by Ginger Jive Turkey on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Xmas this year on Oahu, Hawaii. A Japanese not noticing the free diver in the Aquarium next to his dining table, still the last laugh was on him as I contracted food poisoning and spent the best part of the trip letting things pass through me.

kanda

2011-11-27T19:44:00.001+09:00

kanda, a photo by Ginger Jive Turkey on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Setting up the custom functions on the LX3 using dynamic black and white with high contrast and noise. No post editing apart from a crop.

How to set the C1 and C2 settings on the LX3 can be found here forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1033&me...

odd one out

2011-11-24T20:46:00.001+09:00

odd one out, a photo by Ginger Jive Turkey on Flickr.

funky chickens

2011-11-21T17:05:00.001+09:00

funky chickens , a photo by Ginger Jive Turkey on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
There were a bunch of the weirdest looking chickens were I was cycling, I stopped to take some pics some old dude told me they were from China.

stroll

2011-11-17T06:20:00.001+09:00

stroll, a photo by Ginger Jive Turkey on Flickr.

winding down

2011-11-13T17:23:00.001+09:00

winding down, a photo by Ginger Jive Turkey on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
With just over a month to go to xmas the temperature managed to keep to a nice high over the weekend. Still the thought of a cold xmas and a bit of internet surfing means I will enjoy the sunshine of Hawaii over the xmas break. A bit of an odd choice of vacation for me as I am not sure of holidaying in America for what will be my first time but it seemed a good chance opportunity seeing as the other option was Thailand.

trek7.3fx

2011-11-09T06:27:00.001+09:00

trek7.3fx, a photo by Ginger Jive Turkey on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
The bike I bought back in August has clocked up over 500km around the Saitama area. I bought this for 45,000 Yen in a sale in Shinjuku, I am not used to spending such a large amount of money on "luxury" items and was a little bit hesitant to say the least. To make my mind up I went to the 7 eleven bought a beer and made the decision to purchase it, with my newly found alcohol confidence I strode back to the Oshmans store with empty can only to find no bins to "recycle" my can, not to be deterred I popped it into my shorts, unfortunately upside down, thus emptying the dregs down my legs. Suffice to say I bought the bike rather quickly the shop assistant must have thought it was his lucky day as the drunk gaijin who looked like he has pissed himself parted with over 400 quid and promoptly left the shop.

Shot with Lumix DMC-LX3 Shutter Priority and held on foot.

Childs play

2011-11-07T17:33:00.001+09:00

Childs play, a photo by Ginger Jive Turkey on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
I remember my uncle telling me once about how they had nailed a Santa Claus to a cross in a Japanese department store window in a Xmas display. Xmas advertising already started a
Few weeks ago and this store was keen to get it's display ready, so what do you want for Xmas johnny "how about a set of cock and balls or a least a fanny, its no fun being smooth"

broccoli

2011-11-06T08:31:00.001+09:00

broccoli, a photo by Ginger Jive Turkey on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Nice ride out through Higashi Matsuyama today, covered about 45km before the GPS packed in and I had to guess my way back to the nearest station, am using a Japanese book of rides in Japan which recommended this tree as one of the highlights of the ride which took in rivers, rice fields and plenty of hills. Think I will have to return here once the autumn colours have taken hold.

Full ride details j.mp/sgK3iM

thefall

2011-11-03T17:07:00.001+09:00

thefall, a photo by Ginger Jive Turkey on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Currently listening to the fall a lot, it amazes me how some bands just pass you by and yet you know abouy half of their songs, Mark e smith, legend or lunatic? Made this 45 single cover with the image of a miserable guy I sniped in yoyogi park the other day and wasted pointless minutes in photoshop. Will probably replace this with a musical version so Smith can sue me.

protection

2011-10-31T06:19:00.001+09:00

protection, a photo by Ginger Jive Turkey on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Almost seven months since the quake and now experts claim the disaster is 40% worse than Chernobyl foreign news sources reported this week. News reports in Japan are focusing on hotspots being detected around Tokyo and Chiba, being detected but by local residents and not government officials. The worrying thing about the celsium 137 that is being detected is that in can last in the environment for decades and cause cancer, however the levels which humans (and animals presumably) receive cannot be accurately detected.

rethink

2011-10-29T07:31:00.001+09:00

rethink , a photo by Ginger Jive Turkey on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Had a bit too much free time on my hands at work, iphone4 with broken screen after being dropped by a pissed work colleague. Softbank will kindly replace the screen for 20,000 Yen which is just under half the price of the phone. My phone, a3GS, mute button has broken which means I cant mute it anymore which is really annoying, it also keeps muting itself on and and off every 3 seconds, again softbank quoted me 20,000 yen to get it fixed.

The Beatles : Mr Yasui

2011-10-28T06:20:00.001+09:00

The Beatles : Mr Yasui, a photo by Ginger Jive Turkey on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Mr Yasui is one of the high ranking teachers at my school. When I first started teaching at the school I had to make a speech to the whole faculty and students (over 1500), I was completely unprepared and made a speech in both English and Japanese, part of the speech was about my love of football and how I was a die hard Liverpool fan, under pressure I couldnt translate this into Japanese and simply stated again I was a die hard (Liverpool) fan in katakana, Mr Yasui approached me after the speech and told me (in Japanese) he really liked Bruce Willis too.

clean sweep

2011-10-26T19:06:00.001+09:00

clean sweep, a photo by Ginger Jive Turkey on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Have been attempting a detox over the last two weeks due to a worsening of my psoriasis. It has been tough weeks and for anyone that knows me will no I love my beer. At one point last week I entered a 7- eleven walked to the beer section and opened the fridge all without thinking which struck me as particularly scary, for me just like buying a bottle of water. So what I have learned through this, well my psoriasis hasnt improved, I havent lost any weight, I dont feel any different and I have slightly saved some money, but who needs money...........(cue a groan from my liver).

Monday mornings

2011-10-24T11:13:00.001+09:00

Monday mornings, a photo by Ginger Jive Turkey on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
What better way than spending your day off, getting up earlier than a normal working day and going to teach on an industrial estate just outside of kawagoe. Why do it then, income and there is something more easier about a two hour class with a business person than 50 minutes with a bunch of psp slovering nob ends oh and the 30 quid an hour teaching rate.

piste off

2011-10-23T17:20:00.001+09:00

piste off, a photo by Ginger Jive Turkey on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
There has been an increasing alarmist media outburst over the number of accidents involving bicycles and pedestrians in Japan. Figures show that the increase has taken place since the earthquake on 3/11 forcing police to make a crackdown on pavement riding and riding without brakes. One of the casualties of this will the fixed gear bikes or "piste" bikes as they are known in Japan being targeted especially after a TV celeb was stopped for riding with one brake.
Nothing more than a typical knee-jerk reaction police set up roadblocks in Shibuya invited the media and set about stopping everything on two wheels for no brakes, riding with headphones and jumping red lights which was subsequently broadcast coast to coast.
It seems to me that the police are indeed missing the point by forcing cyclists onto the road as the likelyhood is there will be an increase in car and bicycle accidents. The majority of Japanese drivers enjoy late breaking and parking illegally on the side of the road which would hinder the average cyclist.
As an interesting side note I was stopped by a jobsworth stick waving security type bloke the other day while I was stopped at a set of lights. He told me I should get off my bike and push it across the crossing when I asked him why he said because that was the rules, when I said I was riding on the road and he asked me why and I told him it was the rules wasnt it he just looked gobsmacked.

Shot with LX3 Shutter Priority

piste off

2011-10-23T17:16:00.001+09:00

piste off, a photo by Ginger Jive Turkey on Flickr.

beer bottle

2011-10-01T22:54:00.001+09:00

beer bottle, a photo by Ginger Jive Turkey on Flickr.

It says something about me that I received 10 bottles of beer from my co-workers last week on my birthday. Can you guess which Belgian beer this is?

The Beatles :Yoshiike

2011-09-23T11:26:00.001+09:00

The Beatles :Yoshiike, a photo by Ginger Jive Turkey on Flickr.

Full set here http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginger_jive_turkey/sets/72157627577991505

The Beatles : Hayashi

2011-09-20T19:32:00.001+09:00

The Beatles : Hayashi, a photo by Ginger Jive Turkey on Flickr.

nspired by a project from Chris Orwigs Visual Poetry Book and a lack of things to do at my schools festivals. We asked the teachers at our school to pose for a photo wearing a "mushroom" wig and optional glasses. The goal was to remake the cover of the album "a hards days night" which we completed much to the amusement of the students.
Ms Hayashi is a math teacher.