I've been riding the scooter again. It's finally warm enough, and the moment I got back on the scooter for a tour of the island, I wondered why I had ever stopped. Clearly I stopped because it was bitter cold, but still. Getting back on the bike was a revelation. Riding a scooter is great - you have the sun on your back, you can smell the sea, the road, the flowers, you feel the wind on your body, and the view is always excellent. On top of that, it's exhilarating - winding through mountain roads, leaning into a long sweeping turn, tearing up a mountain and coasting back down the other side - these are things I had missed, but I'm back.

A few days ago Jack Snyder posted a comment on this blog. He didn't realize it, but he actually posted on an entry that was nearly a year old, but he was the English teacher here three or four years ago, and he said that the island really opened up when you take the scooter off the paved roads. I have pretty thoroughly scouted this island by scooter and I couldn't remember any dirt trails leading up into the mountains, and so Jack-sensei and I got to e-mailing. He told me that he had done most of his scootering around Higashino, and that I should check that out. I decided to do just that.

But while we're on this for a moment, I should point out that Jack posted a comment, and that was a rare occurrence. I know it's lame for a blog author to ask for comments, but here I am. When I post these things, I always wonder what people think. I don't care if it's two words, if it's your reaction to what I write, or what I say - then I want to hear it. Writing these things every other day and never hearing back is a lot like giving a speech to an empty auditorium. I know what I want to say, and I know people are reading this, but sometimes it feels like I'm shouting into the night and there's just no one out there listening. For those of you who have left comments recently, thank you. I don't think you realize how much I appreciate it.

Phew, enough of that. Higashino. Scooters. Exploration.


I realized after the fact that almost all my pictures are of bamboo forests. I haven't actually gone to these places to photograph them yet - these are the shots from the first time through, the scooter still running beside me. When I go back, I'll do them more justice.


I had forgotten that I was living in a tropical paradise - but this road reminded me.


Each bamboo forest has a different flavor. This one was quiet and cool, with a dusty blue color.


This one was the opposite, warm and sunny, with insects and a breeze that smelled like flowers. I should do a book, I can call it "The Moods of Bamboo."

Next up is Hiroshima. I went to Hiroshima on Wednesday for a couple reasons. First, I was getting a birthday present for Sabrina (It's her birthday today - happy birthday Sabrina!), and second I needed to practice taking pictures of people. Maybe I have mentioned that I am going to Tokyo again for a week to get those pictures of people that I didn't get last time and regretted missing. I go in a week, and I wanted to try out taking pictures of people in a city. I figured since lately I have gotten my chops photographing students, people on the street would be a little bump up in difficulty. No! It's hard! After about a half hour just to get the courage up to point the camera at people on the street, I spent a good three hours missing perfect photos and messing up the ones I did get a shot at. I finished the day somewhat depressed, but in retrospect I have a few good ones. My hat is off to you, Mr. Cartier Bresson - you made it look easy.











That was the result of the day, and while there are a few photos I'm happy with, there isn't one I particularly love. I will have to work my ass off in Tokyo to get the good pictures. Consider this a work log. This is where I start. Let's see if I improve.

Struggling with people all day made me appreciate how easy static objects are, and I did a bit of that too - photographing the city is quite different from quiet little Osakikamijima.


The spring and summer fashions.


My scooter is nice, but what if I had this? I might never leave. Notice the exhaust pipe. Also, behind the awesome chopper is a luxury scooter. I can dream.


DeoDeo - I basically have to go in every time I pass one of these stores. They sell every kind of gadget, computer, TV, video game, DVD, camera, lens, computer component, rice cooker, clock - the list goes on. It's an awesome store.

I caught a later bus to Takehara and had to wait about an hour for the ferry, so I decided to stroll around and take pictures in the fading light.


That just says that the road goes to Hiroshima.



There's an enormous bike parking area near the ferry port in Takehara. I had never been in it, before.


How cool is that? It's cool.


The ferry terminal. I know this room well. Also, point of interest. See those yellow lines? Those are so blind people can find their way around. They go down the center of every street, they lead you through train stations, and they have patterns of bumps and ridges to indicate different things.


The room where you can sit and wait in air conditioning or heating. It's so boring at night because the shop closes, so you just sit there and stare at the wall while you wait. No thanks. I just noticed the flowers in this picture. Nice.

And that's it. This weekend it's volleyball tournament and the last (thank goodness) sports day. We'll see what I come up with for Monday.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 09, 2006 at 9:29 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.