Japan Photo Contest

This is the view up the valley from Tanijyugo. I live on the other side of the mountain on the left.

Which has nothing to do with this post except that it is a photo of Japan, and the good folks over at JapanVisitor are having a Japan Photo contest.

It's open to amateurs, free to enter, and cool prizes. Full details here

http://www.japanvisitor.com/index.php?cID=358&pID=1912

Typical Japanese Landscape 14

I had a request from Al over at TravelJapanlblog for more winter pics, so.....

The first one is from my favorite viewpoint over the Gonokawa about 1k upstream from my place. I've posted more pics from the same place.

All the rest are taken in the area immediately around my house, and they show a most common feature.... mist.....

I'm not a meteorologist, so I'm not sure exactly what the difference is between cloud, fog, and mist.

They do say that the tea grown here has a particularly fine taste due to the bushes being kissed by the river mist.

Typical Japanese Landscape 13

Near Kaminoseki, on the southern coast of Yamaguchi Prefecture.

More Japanese Landscapes

Typical Japanese Landscape 12

Japan is mostly mountains, so this time some mountain shots!

For those who have never been to Japan, it is hard to fathom just how much concrete there is, and how much "nature" is manipulated and controlled.

I can't remember whose quote it is, but "The Japanese have a wonderful sense of beauty...... and absolutely no sense of ugly!"

More Typical Japanese landscapes
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Typical Japanese Landscape 11

It doesn't get any more typical than my own village,... flat area for rice paddies, with houses up against the base of steep hills. This was taken 2 weeks ago.

Typical Japanese Landscape 10

The "beach" at Gotsu

Typical Japanese landscape 9

In Kerr's "Dogs & Demons" he writes of some first-time visitors to Japan driving into Osaka from the airport through this section of the city. The son commented "so this is where the poor people live." "No! this is where everyone lives." was the reply.

Typical Japanese Landscape 8

Abu River (Abugawa) valley, NE Yamaguchi Prefecture.
Early morning, November.

Typical Japanese Landscape 7

Japan consists of more than 6,000 islands, about half of which are inhabited, so any "typical" Japanese landscape would have to include the sea!

This view is of the Inland Sea off the coast of Yamaguchi Prefecture.

Typical Japanese Landscape 6

This could be a danchi, or it could be a mansion. The distinction between the two is now very blurry. Danchi were originally created by the government in the 1950's to solve the severe housing shortage in the cities that were filling up with people moving in from the countryside. Danchi could only be rented, not bought, and the blocks tended to be plain concrete.
The private sector responded by creating "mansions", which were often slightly larger apartments (but still tiny) that could be bought or rented. Typically the buildings exteriors were clad in tile.

Typical Japanese landscape 5

The sun sets over a paddy of ripening rice.
This photo was taken in my village while walking to Bon Odori.

Typical Japanese landscape 4

For most of the year dawn finds Japan's steep valleys filled with mist.
This photo was taken on an early morning hike in the hills above Ichiyama village

Typical Japanese landscape 3

Most of the Japanese population is concentrated on the coastal strip that goes from Tokyo, through Nagoya, on to Osaka, Hiroshima, and kitakyushu. There was a conscious policy of the Japanese government after WWII to concentrate industry on theis strip where the factories and refineries were closest to the ports that imported the raw materials.

Sunset over Takashima

Living as I do in a narrow, steep valley, I rarely get to see the sunrise or sunset, so it was particularly exciting yesterday evening to watch the spectacular sunset over Takashima.

We were in Miho Misumi, about half-way between Hamada and Masuda. Takashima lies a couple of kilometres offshore. It is now uninhabited, but was inhabited until fairly recently.

Takashima should not be confused with Takeshima! Takeshima is the Japanese name for a group of rocks that lie much closer to Korea than Japan, and are controlled by Korea who call them Dokdo. Currently there is a diplomatic spat between the 2 countries as the Japanese Education Ministry has decided to teach Japanese children that Dokdo belongs to Japan. Japan claimed ownership in 1905 a short while before they annexed Korea and while the Korean Foreign Ministry was already controlled by Japan and therefore in no position to argue. Historically the Korean claim to the rocks is much stronger. Japan has territorial disputes with Korea, China, Taiwan, and Russia..... all of its neighbors!

Typical Japanese Landscape 2

Earlier I posted a typical Japanese landscape, but that may be what Japan mostly looks like, but a small percentage of Japanese live there nowadays. So here are a couple of pics of a typical Japanese landscape from where most Japanese live, the cities and towns.

Gotsu Sunset

The skyline of Gotsu is dominated by the smokestacks and industrial structures of the cellulose factory. Snapped this a few hours ago from the car as we crossed the bridge on the way home.