Travel Photo: Where the Heck is RyukyuRu ?

We were up half the night, last night watching the Japanese Wrestling gals

WHOOP EVERYBODY !

And, maybe having a few beers.

Then RyukyuRu came and picked me up this morning to do some traveling.

When ever you go out with the Map It Okinawa Dude, it's going to be a long day.

It's way past 9PM right now and I have a few hundred photos that won't get developed, today.

It's not good to be staring at computer monitors, this late, when you're tired.

So, I best head on over to a bar and watch more Olympics on a wide screen TV.

Maybe, have a few beers, too.

Guaranteed, when I get there everybody will be asking me,  "Where's RyukyuRu" ?

I'll just tell them to look at my travel photo.  He's in there, somewhere !

   

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Thursday's Travel Photo: Another Waterfall in Okinawa

There are still a few hundred more photos of this waterfall waiting for developing.

The name of the place is Hira Taki (waterfall) but, don't ask me how to get there.

Map It Okinawa will be doing his GPS magic for travelers going off the beaten path.

He's the guy who got this stupid, dead tree off my back after it landed on me today.

Not to worry.  I'm not hurt.  

It would be nice if the government donated a helicopter and pilot to get us around.

Heck, we keep finding all their hidden waterfalls for people.

It just takes a toll on the old hiking shoes, sometimes.

But, getting to them and back is half the fun. Hah !

Coming back down from this one, I got lost.

The Map It Okinawa Dude found me and saved me a few more hours of being...

LOST IN THE JUNGLE

If you decide to go to this waterfall after RyukyuRu gives directions, remember this:

Don't go bumping into dead trees. They fall on you.

Sunday's Silly Sign (Photo) Jan 1, 2012 NO PRKING

This Sunday Silly Sign thing has been going on for almost one whole year.

It worries me sometimes.  Like, how many silly signs can be on the island of Okinawa, Japan ?

Some people come here just once a week to read the silly signs.

What will happen if I can't find another one ?

An alert reader named Ryukyu Ryu found this one for me.

It was an entire minute's walk away from my office.  So, I'll take you there.

Welcome to Downtown Kin Cho Kin, my hometown.

It's the parking lot we're going to on a sunny day early in January.

I'll bring you in close so you don't need any reading glasses for this one.

This is a small, friendly community and we don't have a full-time sheriff.

So, folks put up signs to let people know.

There's NO PRKING allowed around here !

SEE MORE SILLY SIGNS IN THE DOOZIES



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The Lunar Eclipse Photo You Want Isn't Always The One You Get

Last night we were supposed to have one of those total eclipses of the moon.

That'd be the second one in a year.  The photo above was taken in Okinawa, Japan JUN 16, 2011.

We loaded up a car with all kinds of camera gear, way before sunset.

That way we'd find a good spot, up in the mountains for some clear shots.

The science people were saying the best views would be from the Asia Pacific Region.

That's where I live.

The weather looked sort of like this on the way up to the mountains.

That was my first clue that I wouldn't get the photos I was planning to get.

But,  island weather can take sudden turns and we had a few hours before the eclipse.

Things didn't turn out as we expected, though.

This is just a wild guess but, I'm thinking, if we'd have stayed a fifth hour in the mountains, this is sort of how the total eclipse of the moon would have looked from Okinawa, Japan.

About 9PM, after unloading all my camera gear from RyukyuRu's car, I was walking home and saw the moon peek through some clouds.

The man in the moon was probably thinking he'd see something like this.

Well, what if the dude in the moon was trying to catch a shot of us eclipsing down here ?

Maybe he got something like this.  Hah !

Better luck next time.....

Did anyone out there catch the DEC 2011 lunar ecplise photos they wanted ?

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Poinsettia Plants (Euphorbia pulcherrima) Can Become Humongous

Today I was out on Tsuken Island off the east coast of Okinawa, Japan.

For a couple of years I've been meaning to shoot one of these Poinsettia Plants.

Not the little potted things you see on sale at Christmas time around the globe,  I'm talking about the ones that get over 6 feet tall (180cm plus).  This isn't the largest one I've ever seen but,  it came in handy.  That's me in the photo and I'm shooting a sacred site.  I'm just a tad under 6 feet tall (179cm) when I ain't wearing my flipflops.  I didn't have to worry about bumpimg into those flowers because the plant is humongous.  They have even taller poinsettia plants on these islands.

One of these days I'll find a bigger one for you to see.  That guy I've been calling RyukyuRu took this shot.  It was the only way I could get him to stay still for a few seconds.  I handed him my other camera, the CANON G12 and told him I need a picture of me next to a poinsettia for my blog.

He runs this blog called MAP IT OKINAWA that has us running all over this island and any other island that belongs to Okinawa and probably won't quit until he maps the whole Ryukyu Island Chain.

Now, I ain't complainin or nuthin like that.  Just, everytime we come across a humongous poinsettia plant I'll be asking him to stop and shoot a photo.  Just so my tired old bones can get a break !

LEARN MORE ABOUT POINSETTIA PLANTS

The Sun Ain't Shinin' So I Flipped Some Birds (Photos)

This November weather is rough on me.  I need my sunshine or I can get cranky.

The sun just ain't shinin' in Okinawa today.  Groan.

Here's a few bird photos I shot last year in November.

We had sunshine back then and you didn't hear me grumbling about it.

Something had to be done to cheer me up or I couldn't write a blog today.

So, I flipped a few birds....

Photo Credit: RyukyuRu

.....took a l'il nap.....

AND NOW I'M READY FOR ACTION AGAIN

Try it the next time the sun ain't shinin' where you live.

FLIP SOME BIRDS.  It's good for your health !

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Flowers, Ferns, Caves and Castles on a Rainy Day (Photos)

Today the weather gurus predicted thunder storms.  We don't get thunderstorms in November.

Thunderstorms are supposed to be a summertime thing, I thought.

So, when RyukyuRu came by, we decided to go shoot photos of some caves and castles.

This photo of a whatchamacallit (some kind of tree with flowers on it) was on the grounds of the first castle ruins we stopped at.  The sky was already turning violent-looking colors so, I picked on flowers instead of castles.  The castles, I'll get photos of when the sky is blue, not gray.

Here's a closer look at the bell-shaped flower-things.  I figure somebody out there knows the name of them and I won't have to lose another bet with my wife over them.  She knows almost everything, you know, except how to make beer.

Before leaving this castle ruins, I decided to let some sky creep in because I want to remember this location.  Barely visible in the center of this photo are rocks that make up the castle walls.

These ruins are on Okinawa's east coast.  We met a few characters who live nearby and discovered they like karaoke and maybe, some spirits to drink.  So, I promised to stop by again, someday when the weather is more cooperative and we'll do that castle, right.

Off to the other side of the island, we went.  And the thunderstorms happened.

This is the terrain around castle ruins we discovered on Okinawa's west coast.

The rain slacked off.  In between gusts of wind and a few more sprinkles, I managed to capture a few photos of the ferns and wet, jungle vegetation.

There is a cave entrance in the center of this photo, just beyond the ferns.

Several places around these castle ruins have huge cave entrances but, they looked too slippery and dangerous to enter without flashlights.  We decided to return here, another day and I'm glad we did.

Just before getting back in the car, we ran across someone who lived nearby that cave.

He told us, he decided to explore that cave one day, just as a typhoon was approaching Okinawa.

When he got to the cave entrance, the cave had filled to the brim with water.

It's probably not the ideal place to go on a rainy day.

The weather is supposed to be stormy for the rest of this week.  The castles and caves will have to wait.  Flowers and ferns can be fun to shoot on rainy days but, for now I think it's more important to get the right equipment for exploration, dry and recharge my cameras and do some beers !

Forest, Rocks and Salt: The Less Traveled Path in Okinawa (Photo)

The past few weeks I've been traveling all over the Ryukyu Islands with that dude I keep calling RyukyuRu.  It's a blast but, the young guy acts like he's about half my age, goes up and down mountain trails, into the dark corners of caves and through the jungle like some kinda wild animal.  Half the time, I have no idea where we went.  He'll have to tell us where I took this photo of forest, rocks, and salt.  He pays attention to where he's going while I just tag along to shoot the camera.

Ru has one of those GPS gadgets.  It's great for finding stuff on Google Maps.  I just wish it had a few more important features built into the system.  Like, it would be better if it had a built-in flashlight for dark places.  And, it would be nice if it reminded people the sun is going to go down a few hours earlier when you're in the jungle or a cave than it does when you're at the beach.

RyukyuRu's real name is Lou.  It's just easier to say Ru, around here, because they don't have any "L's" in the Japanese dictionary.  Whenever I introduce him to anyone here,  I just say his name is Ru.  That way I don't get stuck giving free English lessons to everybody.

One of these days I may do a blog interview and Lou can let you know all he wants to about himself.  Meanwhile,  you can snoop around MAP IT OKINAWA and learn things about him while seeing more photos of where we've been in the Ryukyu Island Chain.

Today, I chose to title this post Forest, Rocks, and Salt: The Less Traveled Path, because of what we experienced yesterday.

We observed two women at worship in a well-marked UTAKI (SACRED SITE)  early-on in the day and steered clear so as to not disturb them.  They had placed three piles of salt in different locations throughout the Utaki.  Some were placed alongside the trail,  some on rocks, some at the base of trees in the forest, and others at small stone or cement shrines.

After we left that sacred site, we went to the less-traveled paths.  Places where we found caves, water wells, springs, thick brush, jungle, and hills a mountain goat wouldn't enjoy climbing, we kept running across three freshly laid piles of salt.  We're fairly certain the same two women had traveled off the beaten path and reached every location ahead of us but, never saw them again the entire day.  Dozens, if not a hundred, or more, remote locations and probably a few kilos of fresh salt had been placed in locations where we had to beat our own path.  Big mystery here.  Hmm.

After I'm done picking all the burrs out of my undercarriage, I wonder if I should go try and solve this mystery about the forest, rocks and salt piles on the less-traveled paths of Okinawa. 

Or, should I  just stay home and drink beer?

When Wildlife Calls Get Out of Town (Photo Essay)

Today I got on the road with RyukyuRu.  We went to do some photography in the city, again.

Starting at UNESCO Shuri Castle I recomposed a photo I had done before at night.

Then moved outside the castle gates to shoot another UNESCO World Heritage property that is missed by most visitors, even though they walk right by it on their way into the castle.

It is the Stone Gate of Sonohyan Utaki.

That is the entrance to a sacred site where worship took place when Okinawa was known as the Ryukyu Kingdom and the property is still considered sacred to most Okinawans to this date.

To make sure I don't get this Utaki, or shrine confused with another one we have in the east  I caught a quick shot of this plaque.  I'll keep it on file along with the Stone Gate photo and have all the information I need for research in both Japanese and English.  You never know when it may come in handy.

Now, taking photos of castles, shrines, festivals is alright with me.  It can even be a challenge for me at times.  That can be fun but, I really enjoy being far away from any city a whole lot more.

Before we got to that bridge in the first photo, wildlife called me.

RyukyuRu was locking up the car or checking his GPS while I was off setting up a tripod.

When he caught up to me I sort of whispered "Woodpecker" and pointed in the direction I spotted it.  These characters don't hold still for very long.

That's where Continuous, or Burst Mode comes in handy.

After I knew I nabbed a good shot of some wildlife, we could have headed home.  I was happy.

But, we decided to investigate this patch of woods and found all kinds of things to shoot.

We'll have to get back there one of these days.  He can drop me off in the early morning,  go shoot castles, sacred sites, temples, waterfalls, or whatever else he sees along the trail.  Then, come back and pick me up at sunset.  When wildlife calls just get me out of town.

Sunday's Silly Sign (Photo) Aug 21, 2011: What Next ? Contest ?

Wow !   Another week goes by and I forgot to shoot a Sunday's Silly Sign for y'all.

No worries.  We'll never run out of silly signs.  Just start making our own.

Today's photo was taken by RyukyuRu in Izumi Okinawa, Japan.

He used a Canon Powershot SX30 IS

That'd be me posing for you.  I probably should have fixed my hair.

It didn't occur to me at the time but, on the blog, it looks like I'm watching that meter.

Not sure what I'll do for the next contest.

Maybe, give away something when the meter hits 750,000 views.  Standby.....

FOR MORE SILLY SIGNS VISIT THE DOOZIES

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Photo Essay: A Ryukyu Mike Sunday. Can You Hang ?

Here's a photo shot from the doorway of My Place 12:08AM Sunday of an Eisa Group doing what they'd call Bon Odori up in mainland Japan. 

Here, in Okinawa it's called Eisa Dance and it can be seen anytime of year, not just during Obon season.

We also have this custom in Okinawa where Saturday night doesn't end until you go to sleep.  So, this photo was taken Saturday night, as far as I'm concerned.  There were a few of us drinking beer and running out in the street everytime we heard the drums of the Eisa Dancers nearby.

Lucky for me, a guy I'll start calling RyukyuRu volunteered to be my driver for Sunday.  That way I got to consume all the beers I wanted and wouldn't have to worry about driving under the influence, which happens to be  A SERIOUS CRIME IN JAPAN.   I was home sometime early in the morning.  I remember, it was daylight after I walked the dogs.  So, I turned off the porch light and ZZZzzzzzzz....

By 9AM or so I was in my office chugging iced coffee and doing my Homepage Photo of the Day, blog post and groaning stuff like "I'll never drink again until next time".

Around noon RyukyuRusty and RyukyuRu were here and we goofed off for awhile before heading out to try and pinpoint the exact location of this waterfall.  This shot was taken at 2:41PM from a bridge along an expressway where people drive like they own race cars.

Rusty had to go do Obon stuff with RyukyuRusty's fiance so he left.  I was convinced, if we took some of the backroads and looked around for access roads and trails, we'd find a way to get closer to that waterfall.  

We discovered a trail, alright.  It lead us through the woods, buzzing with mosquitos, up to this place where someone was raising honey bees.  So, I shot this photo at 3:33PM and we got the heck out of there.

RyukyuRu started up a site called MAPITOKINAWA and it's attracting quite a following, so he's always looking for off-the-beaten-path locations. 

I had plenty of time to kill because the main event I needed to shoot wouldn't happen until 8 at night. 

As long as he was driving I figured we'd hit some of the places in Yomitan that I'd already been.

The blog post I did on this Buddhist Statue was probably the most controversial one I've ever done.  I guess it'd be a toss up between the Buddhist Statue of Shinran Shonin in NYC and some comments I made about a Gal who wants to be President of the USA shooting mooses.

This photo was taken at 4:45PM Sunday.  I think I'll just be a cameraman and leave the politics and religion stuff to other people who think they're smarter than me.  Hah !

At 5:27 I took this photo.  That's three times in about a week I've been to this site but, Ru had never been here before and this is definitely an out of the way location which isn't on the beaten path.

It was 5:43PM when I took this shot and to tell the truth, we were lost when we discovered it.  I'll take a wild guess and say it's probably an UTAKI.  RyukyuRu can do the research and pinpoint the location. 

I just love getting lost on Okinawa.  It's an island so, sooner or later, some road will lead to the ocean !

We got to Zakimi Castle, the UNECSO World Heritage Site just as the sun started getting low in the sky. 

I've never been here at sunset so, I was having a blast looking at the way the light fell on the castle walls from different angles.  It's 6:26PM in this photo.

Not much of a history fan when I was growing up this kind of stuff would bore me.  Now, I'm older and wiser.  If you went this way to attack the castle back in the old days, you were in for a surprise.  It leads to a dead end.  The defenders of the castle, from the walls above, would simply drop rocks on your head.  When I was a kid I liked throwing rocks.  Teachers just didn't know how to make history fun. 

Oh, almost forgot, it's 6:31 in this photo.

Once we got inside the castle I got on top of the walls and looked for places where you could catch the low rays of the setting sun.  Time: 6:57PM.

This shot was taken with my back towards the ocean and the sun setting behind me at 7:12PM.

Here's where you'd go if you wanted rocks dropped on your head during an attack on the castle. 7:14PM.

The moment I was waiting for happened in this photo at 7:18PM.  No tourists moving in the scene, just a guy and his beer cooler watching the moon rise over Zakimi-jo Castle in Okinawa, Japan.

For a parting shot, I like to get in a position and take a photo that gives a sense of how it might appear to a resident of the castle, centuries ago.  No cellphone towers, tourists running around with their cameras, just a simple view of the moon rising outside a castle wall.  Feel the quiet.

RyukyuRu had to be awake at 4AM to get ready for work so we headed back towards Kin Village.  We stopped near this Lady Liberty Statue because I'd heard of a place we might get to see some Seaturtles hatch and make the mad dash for the sea.  This photo was taken at 8:53PM.

It's not like this every Sunday, only when it doesn't rain.  I could use a few more backup drivers for Ryukyu Mike Sunday's if anyone is interested.  The pay is just job satisfaction.  Can you hang ?