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The Japan
Times 2nd Photo Contest wrapped up last month and
once again I am kicking myself in the ass for not entering.
While the photos are for the most
part good, I think I would really have had a shot at
winning (or at least placing) if I had entered.
I'm not saying that I think my photos are great or anything,
but I do have a pretty extensive archive and I am sure
to be able to harvest at least a few good ones when
needed. (Jeff makes a mental note to enter next
years contest)
--
Last Sunday I went to Enoshima to
see the Enoshima/Shonan spring festival. Normally it
is easy to navigate your way to a festival when they
are being held. Once you get close the steady stream
of people picks you up and you just ride the current
in.
But for some odd reason when I got
off the train at Enoshima station (Enoden Line) there
was no general direction that the majority of people
were headed. Rather, they just kind of dispersed out
in random directions.
I thought this was kind of odd, but
did not give it much thought. (My mind was on other
things, namely finding a beer vending machine to jump
start my creative juices for a day of shooting photos.)
Since the name of the festival was
Enoshima/Shonan I decided that it was a pretty safe
bet for me to head towards the ocean. So I hooked a
left and started walking. After about 10 minutes I had
not yet found a beer vending machine, but I did come
upon a "combini" (convenience store) and ducked
inside to grab a beer. (Kirin Lager)
Cracking it open and taking a long
pull, I adjusted the shoulder straps of my photo pack
and continued my trek to the beach.
Upon arriving at the beach I was disappointed
to find no festival. I shot some pictures of Umitaka
(Sea Hawks) and crows as they dive bombed picnicers
and then turned around to head inland towards some temples
and shrines. (Another good bet for finding where festivals
are held)
After 15-20 more minutes of walking
I did find some temples, but they were mostly deserted.
Except for some groundskeepers and worshipers, there
was nobody else there. This was kind of a blessing though
since the plum blossoms are coming out now and the place
was loaded with plum trees. There were also a lot of
cherry trees so I plan on going back in a 2 or 3 weeks
when everything is in full bloom. I did take some photos
of the place but they don't really do the place justice
with the trees being half bare at this time of year.
After exploring the temple I decided
to head a little further inland to see what was around
that next bend in the road in this yet (for me) unexplored
part of Japan.
I continued to bump into small and
mid sized temples along with their accompanying graveyards.
Due to Monday being a Japanese holiday
(Beer Vending Machine Day if I remember correctly) it
was a three-day weekend. This coupled with the fact
that it is spring means a lot of people were going to
temples to clean the graves of their ancestors.
Graveyards in Japan supply buckets for people to use
to carry water to the grave site. I saw a lot of people
carrying water with these, more so than any other time
I have been to a graveyard here in Japan. (Call me weird,
but I find graveyards in Japan interesting, and peaceful)
The day was cool but not cold, and
the sun was filtering through a high overcast, penetrating
just enough to lend at least a little warmth to the
concrete and asphalt. All in all it was a really nice
day.
Not wanting to waste the weather I
continued to walk further inland. The further away I
got from the beach the less interesting things became.
Older houses gave way to apartment buildings and small
vegetable stands gave way to supermarkets, but not too
far up ahead I could see a cluster of tall buildings.
It was then that I realized that I had walked almost
all the way to Fujisawa station.
Lucky for me the Enoden line runs
between Fujisawa and Kamakura, and from Kamakura it
is only 4 stops along the JR Yokosuka kline for me to
get back home. So I didn't need to backtrack all those
kilometers back to Enoshima station.
And while it was not as exciting a
day as I had hoped for, (I kind of lost my way when
looking for the festival) I did get to explore some
new territory and found some really nice temples which
I will be sure to go back to once the plum and sakura
are in full bloom.
Comment 27
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