After almost one year of silence (on this blog) I am happy to be back. I was busy working on another project (a book, more about that in a future post). And: my old (2014) Macmini became soo sloww that it wasn’t fun to edit and upload photos and stories anymore. So now, with a brand new and fast machine, here is: JAPAN.
Taken from the Shinzen Bullettrain, on our way from Tokyo to Kyoto
Tokyo
We spent a few days in Tokyo first. Crazy city. Big, Large, Enormous, Gigantic! And rather pleasant. It’s clean, going from one place to another is easy by metro and train, there are lots of interesting things to see, and great food to be found everywhere. And it’s a photography heaven.
As a foreigner it is sometimes not easy to see from the outside that the place is actually a restaurant.
Upon entering you’ll find that it’s often very lively and cosy.
This is one of the many neighborhoods in this vast city
Ukiyo-e
A year ago I watched a documentary with David Bull, a Canadian living in Tokyo for over 30 years (here’s a link to the trailer). He learned himself the art of traditional Japanese woodblock carving (Ukiyo-e). I went to his shop and took a short intro class and made my own little print. And I also bought an original Ukiyo-e print from Toshi Yoshida, made in 1938 (see https://mokuhankan.com/catalogue/NS11.php)
Ukiyo-e woodblock print by Toshi Yoshida (1938)
In the same street, 80 years later, the situation has changed a little bit… But the idea of advertising and shopping is comparable.
Digital File / Photograph by Geert Schuite (2019)
I bought a little stamp with my name in Japanese characters:
Kyoto
We took the bullet train to Kyoto: a totally different atmosphere. Another world: hardly high-rise buildings, a temple around each corner; an old-fashioned city.
(ode aan Vincent)