Waaahgwaan? Here is me trying to get back into the groove of blogging.... the vlogging comes next. Come along with me through pics and experience the Japanese countryside through the eyes of a Jamaican.
Many people think of Japan and the first place they think of is Tokyo, well, now is not the time to be going to the big city and as a matter of fact, many Tokyo-ites wished they could relocate to the countryside because of the Ronies...for now at least.
A couple weeks ago some friends and I went into the hills of Ashikaga in Tochigi prefecture to do some catch and release fishing in a game type/man made pond setting. It kinda reminded me of a place in Jamaica I went to as a kid called "Nature's Habitat". The only thing is at the place in Jamaica we caught the fish and they cooked it for us to eat, but it was still fishing in a man made pond.
Unfortunately I didn't take any picturess of the fishing activities as I was too busy helping my sons to get a bite from the very experienced goldfish and koi in the make shift pond. Here is a pic of the outside of the fishing spot.
The nature surrounding the fishing place was very calming. Various shades of green could be seen and it looked like a painting, it looked like Jamaica.
After earning reward points for the fish we caught, we took a drive to Matsuda Dam. Here we found people playing in this man made river/stream along a camping site where BBQs were taking place. But of course, not many who we went with were dressed to get wet...except me and another dude.
It wasn't a huge crowd but a decent amount of people were around, kids were mostly trying to catch crabs. The water was very cold and soothing on a humid day in mid July.
So yeah, no one came prepared, so I had to take turns lifting my kids on my shoulder and walking them slowly through the shallow river hoping not to fall. I suggested they just wear their undies but they refused, they ate from the tree of life and realized what nakedness is already.
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Photos from here on were taken with my mirror-less camera, the popular and affordable M50 otherwise known as the KissM in Japan. They were taken on a separate day. Can you tell the difference in quality?
On this day I went out with the purpose of using my camera. I have had it parked for a good couple weeks. I haven't really been anywhere that prompted me to take pics but sometimes you gotta just prompt yourself and flex that index finger if even just for the practice. These pics were taken on a walk after lunch in a neighborhood far away, so I was snapping up any and everything.
Interesting thing about walking around this neighborhood was that almost every home had 2 cars parked in them during the middle of the week, lunch time. Could it be the aging population retired and at home? Or maybe the work at home crowd due to rona? Housewives? Or just the jobless in the countryside. A mixture of them all maybe.
I call this one above flowers on the street 😁. The picture below is of a sweet potato farm I believe. Around this area there are plenty of farm lots, makes me wish I had some land to get some farming started.( I hear they are basically lending land to anyone who wants to farm,so I guess I just need the time).
Yeah I was really trying to find shit to take pics of, even the common spider got a snap. The thick zigzag webbing seemed to have sealed that insect in for good.
The pic below is a very common statue in Japan; a man sitting and thinking. Maybe it is some famous copy of a historic piece but what do I know. I tried to get the flowers upfront blurred and focused on the thinker in the back. It turned out alright.
Spot the insect in the sunflower? If not your eyes are bad 😎. The pattern in the middle of the sun flower is very cool, I think those are the edible seeds. Have you tried it before?
Now this rock and candle holder looking thing, I don't now why but I like it. It says Japan . Rocks carved with kanji like this go for thousands of dollars, but they really make a garden look oriental. No it is not a tombstone 😆
