Rain Can't Stop Cherry Blossom Lovers

Wet and Breezy on the Mountain

 

 

Just to keep everyone informed, another trip was made up Mt. Yae, yesterday.

Luckily, Map It Okinawa Dude was driving; that's too far of a hike, for me.

The higher up that ear-popping mountain, you go, the colder it gets.

Wind blowing and rain falling make photography more challenging than usual.

 I figured it would be a good idea, to jump out of the car and snap a few photos.

Here's an image taken from almost the exact spot, I stood at, two weeks ago.

The shot couldn't be duplicated because, too many vehicles were coming up the road.

Standing with a tripod, in the middle of the street, can be dangerous.

 These young ladies, were out there in the rain, taking pictures and, doing selfies.

They saw the old man, with a furry face and posed for me.  Good girls.

 Where a Pentax camera, come in handy, is when it's raining outside.

Other than, keeping raindrops off of the lens, I didn't have to worry about it getting wet.

 The cell phone, I use is water resistant, too so, I snapped this photo.

The folks at the camera store know, I put their stuff through some rough tests.

They should send me free stuff and, see if it can be broken. I'd do a bang-up job for them !

 The trees, sort of blossomed sporadically, this year and, I wouldn't say they are at full bloom, yet.

Maybe it's fifty percent at full bloom, at this point; there are lots of barren cherry trees.

 It would have been, much more enjoyable, up there on a sunny day.

Maybe in the next weekend or, two the whole mountain will busting out in pink flowers.

Some of my camera-shooting friends live up there in Motubu.

They should do like, I do.  Sneak out of the house before the women wake up.

And, spend the whole day, snapping photos of cherry blossoms.

When, there's no blue skies, to add to the scene, I climb high and shoot down into the valley.

The colors and contrast make an interesting scene, I think.

Once my clothes were soaking wet and I was half frozen, it was time to get out of there.

Do you, love cherry blossoms enough, to visit them in the rain ?

Nago Mountain Cherry Blossoms at Night and a Tip

Sakura Report #4

 

 

These 10 photos should give you an idea how the little pink flowers are doing.

Last night we grabbed the cameras and went to all the way to the top of the hill.

My favorite brewery, provided lanterns to light up the stairway.

The Nago City Sakura Matsuri, begins tomorrow.

THe festival tents and stage are set up and ready for business.

Stone lanterns glow, on both sides of the path, leading to the shrine above.

 It's a fairly steep climb so, I took my time and shot lots of photos.

 There may have been a grand total, of about five people, on the mountain while we visited.

So, I had plenty of time to play with different photo compositions.

Nago City, doesn't look the same, when you're up there in the dark.

 This is the shrine at the top of the mountain.

The trail to the left was lighted by lanterns so, I went down there, too.

Before long, there were no more lights and, it got really dark.

 

So, I decided  to go back down the stairs, I used to get up there.

And, I remembered to shoot a few cherry blossoms, too.

 It can be cold and windy up in the mountains during sakura season.

 So, I used the light from those Orion Beer lanterns to my advantage.

Travelers Tip

 

Some people go to these events for the festivities.

Stuff like food, drinks, entertainment and mingling with the crowds is alright.

If you want the most enjoyable experience, viewing the flowers, wait.

A week or, two later is when they'll really be blooming !

Travel Photo: Tobacco Fields of Ie Jima and Mt. Tachū (タッチュー) and a Gripe

Photo composed to give a view of Ie Jima tobacco fields with Mt. Tachū in the background.

Called Mt. Gusuku, in travel brochures and advertising, it's best to know some local dialect.

Most Okinawans, when they see this hill on Ie Jima, immediately recognize it.

They call it, Tachū (タッチュー) so, that's what I do, too.

Tobacco, I can't complain about that. We all agree, tobacco is tobacco.

The Gripe

 

 

When, you try to research this little mountain on Ie Jima you find all kinds of stuff online.

And, just because some genius spelled  it "Tacchu" on Wikipedia, everybody else does.

It makes you wonder what they do.  Maybe, just copy and paste the stuff !

Trust me.  I ain't a linguini expert er, nuthin like that.

Just browsing through a few Japanese, Okinawan and English dictionaries.......

...there doesn't seem to be any words with two "C's" like that Tacchu word.

Rekin we could get some scholar to go in and kerrect that ?

Jumping Over Mt Katsuu: How We Gotterdun

She Really Didn't Jump That High

The pretty girl didn't have to jump over 400 meters in the air to compose this photo.

I took it while waiting for the Katsuyama Shikuwasa Flower Festival Festival to Kick off.

Most girls would look at you like you were crazy if you asked them to try this.

Say something like, "Nene, how about a picture of you jumping over that mountain?"

Well, she did seem to act like she was confronting a lunatic, at first.

But, thanks to the Zuckerberganator, the gal recognized RyukyuMike from Facebook.

So, she took a minute of her time to listen to my plan.

 We borrowed two folding chairs from the set-up in front of the stage.

They were strategically placed so she just had to jump-up a tad while I shot the photos.

That's how we gotterdun.

Travel Photo: Stream Scene from Okinawa

There's really no such thing as getting lost on the island of Okinawa.

But, you can become temporarily misplaced.

Follow any stream, trail or, road out of the jungle.

Sooner or, later you are bound to find the ocean.

What I do, when the younger dudes go climbing and trekking up slippery rocks is stop.

Then, make believe I'm doing something important.

That's how I got this scene of a stream flowing through the northern hills of Okinawa.

The Map It Okinawa dude must have thought I was temporarily misplaced.

After he climed every hill and waded through all the streams in the area, he came back and found me.

He helped me carry all my camera gear back down the mountain.

It's a good idea, after you reach a certain age, to have someone younger travel along with you.

He even has one of those GPS gadgets and, can probably tell you where this photo was taken.

The location isn't all that important to me.  I just like to take the pictures.

If we happen to head back up that way again I don't plan on going to this spot.

What I would do, is find another stream to checkout.

When the young adventurers get too far ahead of me, I'll do it again.

Just get myself Deliberately Misplaced  and shoot another scene in the jungles of Okinawa.

It's a blast !

Travel Photo: Offerings on the Mountain

 

This photo was taken on December 23, 2012, in the hills above Hedo Village, Okinawa, Japan.

The crowd surrounding the Okinawan Priestesses watched offerings being made.

To take a photo like this without barging through the crowd and disrupting a ritual can be tricky.

What I did here, was stretch my tripod all the way out and fold the legs.

Then hoisted the camera about 12 feet in the air and shoot with a shutter cable release.

Almost anything beats carrying around a stepladder or, climbing trees!

More about this New Year Water Mixing event may be seen in the Ryukyu Shimpo.

Travel Photo: Just a Couple of Climbers

This photo was taken today at Mt. Katsu in Okinawa, Japan.

The couple came along while I was hanging out shooting some wild critters.

They are heading up the trail to the top of the mountain.

A fairly good climb, it takes young folks about an hour to reach the peak they are headed for.

We made some small talk and, somehow the guy's age slipped out. He's in his eighties.

So, I let him know I'm 60 something.

The gal just laughed and called me a youngster.

Do you ever meet couples like this in your travels ?

Friday Travel Photo: Mt. Fuji in the Morning by RyukyuRusty

It's been fairly busy around here these days.  Heck, I even missed Travel Photo Thursday.

RyukyuRusty took this photo last month, one time, when the sun actually showed up.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then, go make up your own words for this one.

I'm just gonna tell you, it's Mt. Fuji in the morning and get on outta here.

That's because, like I said, it's been fairly busy around here these days.

2012 Nago Cherry Blossom Festival A 12 Photo Essay

Here it is, fresh off the Nago Mountain from today's visit to the 2012

Nago Cherry Blossom Festival.

These 12 photos should give you an idea what the Sakura (桜) are looking like this weekend.

This year happens to Nago City's 50th Cherry Blossom Festival.

Locally, it's called's Sakura Matsuri.

Climbing up, I have no idea how many stairs, I stopped plenty of times to take pictures and it's sort of a challenge  shooting photos without any people in them.

But, I really don't mind waiting for the right split second to get the shots I want.

That gives my legs a chance to rest.  Mountain climbing just isn't my favorite sport.

Everybody wants their picture taken with the Sakura flowers.

Those pink blossoms really stand out from the background.

We had some great weather today.  It felt almost like summertime.

This scene was shot at what I'm guessing is the halfway point.

After walking this far, I decided I had more important stuff to do.

So, I entertained everyone getting ready to take pictures of these cherry blossoms in front of stone lanterns.  

I made them wait until I cleaned the spiderwebs off the plants.

Then, I took a little detour off to the left to shoot this bridge.

Last year it was cloudy and raining at the Nago Sakura Matsuri.

So, I figured this photo was more important than climbing a bunch of stairs.

Coming back down the mountain I shot some more photos with downtown Nago in the background and cherry blossoms up front.

This little Japanese White Eye bird (Mejiro) showed up and I had a devil of a time getting focus on him.  They move around pretty fast.  I think when the trees are all in full bloom those birds get drunk, or something from sniffing the sakura.  I'll go back again next week  and get some better Mejiro shots with Big Bertha, my Sigma 50-500MM LENS.

The 2012 Nago Cherry Blossom was a blast for me but, I wish I'd have read the

 OKINAWA LOCAL TOUR GUIDE'S BLOG before I climbed that mountain.

I WOULD HAVE KNOWN ABOUT THE FREE SHUTTLE BUS THAT DRIVES YOU UP THERE !

Cherry Blossoms (桜) and Waterfalls (滝) in Okinawa, Japan

Today's report on the Cherry Blossom (桜) situation up in the northern mountains is a little brighter.  Looking at Mt. Yadake crews could be seen setting up the festival tents for the Sakura Matsuri ( Festival ) and that's a good sign the place will get busy this weekend.

This photo with just a few Sakura (桜) blossoms on it was taken in Nago, before even heading up to Mt. Yadake.  So, I expect to see lots of Cherry Blossoms on Mt. Nago by the end of the month.

The reason I went north today wasn't really to shoot Cherry Blossoms.

It was to check out Todoroki Waterfall (轟の滝) one more time.

Shooting the falls from some different angles was the plan.

This photo with the waterfalls in the left third of the frame was one of my favorites.

But, you won't catch me trying to duplicate this shot for awhile.

I'm sitting here with a bag of ice tied to my back because I slipped and fell on the rocks trying to come back down after taking the shot.  Dagnabbit !

The moral of this story is old folks should stick to taking photos of Cherry Blossoms.

Let younger folks climb hills to take pictures of waterfalls would be a good idea, I guess.



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Friday Photo: A Scene from the Mountains of Nago in Okinawa, Japan

This is a location I plan on spending some time at in early morning and late afternoon light.  I went here for the first time, today around noon.  Not exactly the best lighting for landscape photography but, I just enjoyed the view and decided to take this photo.

The reason for going here was to catch a wildlife photo.  The subject missed his appointment.  We'll meet at this location, one of these days.  While I'm patiently waiting, I'll probably get scenic shots of the whole mountain, waterfalls, flowers, butterflies and any other critters that inhabit the area.  Standby for more.....

VISIT MY HOMEPAGE FOR THE PHOTO OF THE DAY

Cherryblossom (桜) Festival Okinawa, Japan (Photo Essay)

The photos will have to do the talking because I'm still worn out from the hike up Nago Mountain in Okinawa, Japan yesterday. It was cold, windy and rained a few times but, was one of the best Cherryblossom (桜) Festivals I've seen in a long time. Look and enjoy.

Getting lost for a while in the mountains, thinking we could beat traffic, my trusty driver from Texas (Rusty), spotted this scene. So, we pulled over and snapped a few shots of the sun.  

Wherever it was shining,  it never hit us. We managed to miss it all day.

Here's what we ran into as soon as we parked the car and entered the walkway leading to the mountain. It was an international conglomeration of festival goers. Look. I think one guy was all the way from Italy.

And the first thing you smell isn't people. It's all the chicken yakitori (chicken on a stick) and soy sauce cooking on charcoal fires. But, there was a mountain to climb so, I didn't eat.

The stairways going up the mountain must be made for people with smaller feet than mine. I had to stretch my legs and go up two at a time. I have no idea how many steps they have but, I know I'm not in any hurry to go back and try it again today.

If you really need to know how many steps there are, maybe, somebody from Wikipedia can tell you.

Or, ask a kid. They count stuff like that.

Everytime you think you have reached the top of the mountain, you find more stairs to climb. In front of that concrete lantern is a cherryblossom sprig. The red, white and blue balls you see strung out above everything are paper lanterns. They're made by Orion Beer Company, my favorite beer, just in case you ever want to buy me one.

See that girl with the umbrella?  She must have popped into a dozen of my pictures while I was trying to compose a great shot. I kept this one, only because she wasn't moving and, she was a little bit cute.

But, I really don't like girls in my pictures, especially when they've been rained on.

I'll go back someday and get you a good picture when she's not there and it isn't raining.

Did I mention it was cold ?  Well, here you go. It was so freakin' cold they had a snowman and kids in winter clothes playing in the snow. It's not supposed to snow on my tropical island.

They imported the stuff or had a machine making it.

I've never seen snow here, before but, I'm glad they had it to keep the kids busy. It's hard to pick your nose when you're busy making snowballs. Ever notice that ?  All kids should have snow.

This was the best part. They had sleds and trails with snow on them. People were lined up, waiting to hop on a sled, or whatever they call those things.

They were having a blast. It reminded me of the Swiss Alps.

Only thing was, I kept looking around for the ski lift so I wouldn't have to walk all the way up the mountain. They didn't have one.

There weren't any blue skies to shoot but, I wanted to get some pictures away from the crowds and found this suspension bridge. This is another shot I'll have to go back and try on a nice sunny day.

Nago City and the bay are down below the cherryblossomed railings on the bridge. That'd be the East China Sea out on the horizon.

I killed some time here waiting for sunset. I zoomed with my lens a few times and as far as I could tell, the Chinese were staying on their side of the ocean. So, don't worry. I'm always checking.

This is what I was waiting for. The sun went down, the wet girl that kept popping up, must've got cold and went home and I got to set up right in front of the stairs.

The guy with the cell phone camera was holding still and I caught the whole scene with half a second on my camera shutter.

All I had left to do after that was get a close up shot of a Cherryblossom (桜) or two and I'd be happy.

The freezing, the cold, even the rain didn't really matter. Everybody on that mountain had a good time. The Nago City Cherryblossom Festival in Okinawa, Japan only happens one weekend out of the year. It's a special event and worth some sore muscles to climb that mountain. I've got a picture to prove it !