Train's tracks make it split away from the camera's train

The train route from Osaka city center to the south, where the KIX airport lies off the coast on a man-made island, includes segments that run parallel with other train services. But on this early Sunday morning trip as the morning light brightens, another train diverges from its parallel path and heads toward the west.

Caution announcements as train doors close and it begins to leave the platform

Seen from one side of the platform where the train waited its turn to depart, this other train that can be seen gets ready to leave. The cautionary announcements warn the people near the carriage doors and near the edge of the platform to be careful.

Early Sunday morning train platform announcements at JR Osaka's Umeda station

One of the first trains from Osaka city center to the KIX (Kansai International Airport) terminal was scheduled to leave the platform around 7 a.m. At this early time of day Sunday morning there were many people already gathered to board the train, a few with suitcases, and a few apparently finishing a long Saturday night. In this video clip a cold and hot beverage vending machine fills the left side of the frame and the sounds of platform announcements can be heard throughout.

Garden breeze at the Sennyu-ji temple on Culture Day

At the end of the Saturday afternoon holiday, November 3, only a few visitors remained before the 5 p.m. closing time so this view of one of the buildings on the grounds of Sennyu-ji was not distracted by people moving across the frame.

Main hall at the Buddhist temple complex of Sennyu-ji

Not far from the the busy center of Kyoto is this secluded mountainside temple that has a longstanding relationship to the Imperial Family. This video clip shows the way that many cultural tourists make use of their brief time on the site of Kyoto's many temples and cultural institutions: walk around the physical space to appreciate the massiveness and detail, possibly go inside, often raise cellphone to snap a photo of the place or of oneself at the site. Considering the centuries of life here at Sennyu-ji, a visit of an hour or less can only touch a small part of the surface. But that is far more than other people who never leave their slumbering couch or their car as they speed through their lives.

Passengers step off the train at the Tofuku-ji platform in central Kyoto

By late afternoon of Saturday's national holiday, Bunka no Hi (Culture Day), many of the sight-seers were tired and were resting. So the train was not overly crowded. After the dance between exiting and entering train passengers at the edge of the platform, the doors of the train close and off it goes to the next station. This station is about 1.5 or 2 km from the Sennyu-ji temple, tucked up on the side of the mountain.

Live kabuki at the theater in Kyoto on Culture Day

Mid-afternoon on this Saturday of the national holiday brought many people to the city to walk in the pleasant sunlight. Some of these were lined up at the theater, visible across the street where the face of the kabuki-za is covered with glittering leaves of silver that shake in the slight breeze. Many people know of the kabuki theater in Tokyo, but here in Kyoto there is also a venue to see live productions.

Large ikebana prominently displayed on the floor in the exhibition

Arrangements of flowers range from a single vase to this massive piece with vast amounts of woody stems, berries, buds, and blooms. As the camera hovers near and moves around the piece, some of its complexity from each viewpoint can be seen. The piece includes names of two women at the end of the video clip, both with surname Kobayashi. So it could be mother-daughter, sisters, or maybe a grandmother is involved.

Ikebana with coarse texture and bold curves

In spite of the sharp edges and rough surface of the main plant matter in this piece of art, the many curves of its shape seem to soften the overall effect and viewer's emotional response.

Culture Day exhibtion of brush writing, flower arranging, and kimono

At the exhibit room not far from the Chion-in temple complex all of these art forms from citizens were gathered into a single event for Culture Day. Visitors were invited to sign in and later, if they wished, also to sit down and receive whisked matcha (powdered fine green tea) in a kind of streamlined Tea Ceremony without the normal tea room and all of the formalities that go with it.

Ikebana exhibition in close-up, Kyoto near the temple of Chion-in

This school of flower arranging is relatively new, judging from the the non-traditional textures, size of presentations, and principles of design/composition. It is big, bold, and sometimes surprising, as this small close-up example shows (bigger ones located outdoors can be seen through the glass walls). The exhibition for today's national holiday, Bunka no Hi (Culture Day), was hosted in Kyoto very near the front gate of the Chion-in temple complex, the head temple for Pure Land Buddhism.

The west side of Lake Biwa near Takashima; grain elevator in the distance

The low angle of the morning light on this 7 a.m. train from JR Takefu to JR Kyoto shows the passing landscape to good advantage for today's Bunka no Hi holiday (Culture Day). Immediately outside the train window the station platform of a small station passes in a blur as the train speeds south and east to the ancient capital once called Miyako, but now more widely known by the name of Kyoto.

At Shiga prefecture's north end, the mountains around Makino

From the window of the limited express train headed south into Kyoto, this view soon after leaving the Japan Sea at the port of Tsuruga gives the feeling of "big shouldered" mountains. They fill the horizon, so close to the rail line are they. The countryside speeding past the window is a mix of forest land, farmland, and other sections of land that is overgrown or undeveloped. With rural populations migrating to cities, as they have done since the 1950s, and the national population as a whole decreasing, there are many spots that once were carefully tended, but now are abandoned, much to the benefit of the many wild plants and animals.

Narrow valley with rice paddies ready to harvest; passing by platforms of local station

Fields of rice in the wide river valley of the Hino River mostly have already been harvested. Among the 3-4 varieties most popularly grown for commercial gain there are some that can be transplanted as seedlings soon after the danger of frost is passed and then will mature in August for harvest early in September when the moisture content of the heavy grain heads is judged to be optimum. Other varieties and the ones transplanted later might have to wait until October, when most of the typhoon season has passed. But in the narrow valley shown in this video clip through the window of a speeding express train there is less available sunlight to accumulate in the ripening plants, so the harvest is later than in the wide valley, but not too much later than today, the national holiday for celebrating Japanese culture, Bunka no Hi.

The eight tunnels by rail from JR Takefu to JR Tsuruga on Honshu's west coast

The old train line for coal powered steam locomotives passed through many tunnels cut through mountains and spurs of rock, clay and sand. At a point south of Imajo, where a repair depot once stood, and close to the hamlet of Suizu there was an ingenious switchback to help the heavier strings of cargo or passenger cars get over the higher ground. Now that original route has been converted for automobile traffic in a few spots. In others only pedestrians or bicyclists use the tunnels overlooking the Japan Sea. But still today on the tracks now in service there are many tunnels to pass through, one of which takes more than a minute and the conductor warns computer wifi and cellphone users of the interruption of service. This video clip southbound from JR Takefu shows the lead into one tunnel from a section of narrow valley that is still being farmed as the Route 365 roadway passes down the valley.

Harrowing the rice paddy before winter sets in, preparing the ground for next spring's muddy transplanting

On the south side of Echizen city center, not far from the river levee road along the west bank of the Hino River is a section of rice paddy that is still producing rice, even as new construction cuts into the rich land, year by year. Around lunchtime on this Friday a farmer puts his compact tractor into the field and churns the soil before the freezing temperatures of winter come. Others wait until things again become soft in the spring before doing this step in the rice growing cycle.

Until 2019 or so the many part-time farming families have been enjoying subsidies to produce rice year after year, but bigger rice fields, bigger equipment, better crop varieties, and decreasing per person rice consumption (indeed the aggregate national population is decreasing) result in excess grain. So the subsidy will begin to go away, in effect making the return on one's labor, time, and equipment debts, become too much to carry on the livelihood in the paddy fields in many cases. And with the average age of growers something like 60 or older, with few younger people learning the skills needed to plan and carry out production, perhaps this national strategy to cut down home-grown food makes sense.

Washing the car on a sunny November 2

 

Video snapshots like this capture a slice of time that presents a short composition, but longer than the fraction of a second seen in still photographs. This vignette captures the trickling water that fills a bucket before overflowing to run into the roadside drainage channel as it runs to join the Hino River and from there there travels to the Japan Sea at the port of Mikuni about 35 or 40 km to the north, northwest.

The source of life - water that flows (mountainside hamlet's channel)

Typically the dwellings and businesses around the valleys in this part of Fukui prefecture, and possibly across all the islands, would be sited away from the prime flat spaces suited to rice paddy production. And while more and more land now is being filled in and packed down to support buildings instead of rice seedlings, there are still many people living along the skirt of the mountain or hillside, as in this hamlet.

The bright light of early November before mid-day makes the steady flow of water from the mountain come alive in this short clip. Before privately metered water and sewerage lines, everybody relied on water channels for the rain and snow run-off, as well as what the mountain produced itself. It could be used from washing or boiling or cleaning, as well as growing plants or supplying livestock, for example.

The sound of temple bell rung as mourners arrive for memorial ceremony

At the place where cemetery (background) meets parking area for the temple buildings off to the right stands this bell platform where early on Friday morning one of the Buddhist priests at Gotanjo-ji (Zen) begins to ring the bell just as the coachload of friends and family are arriving to memorialized their departed friend or relative.

The arcade sounds upstairs at the shopping mall

There is some product cross-over among these arcade games between characters known by their plots on TV or anime movies, on the one hand, and merchandise like shirts, shoes, caps, and bags or pencil cases  on the other hand. [Echizen-city, Fukui-ken 915]

Deer Crossing - beware (Kofuku-ji temple in central Nara), October 29

The low angle of the light shows the early morning recording time. In the middle distance on the right one of the city visitors was tracking one of the hoofed beasts with a camera in hand. See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C5%8Dfuku-ji

Collecting the recyclables near Nara's temple of Kofuku-ji

The famous deer that wander certain parts of the city of Nara also can be seen here from time to time, often with a person waving a camera toward the sight, too. This clip comes from early Monday morning at the end of October before the shops open and while students were making their way to their school yards.

Quiet Monday morning in old Nara city center at the end of October - neighborhood graves

Sweeping the lens from front to back on an early morning walk when the angle of light is low, the variety of tombstones and patterns of their arrangement can be seen in relation to nearby houses and the narrow lane that passes from one street to another, narrow enough that just pedestrians and bicycles can traverse the way.

Where the mighty Pacific hits Honshu's south-most point of the Kii Peninsula near Kushimoto

A few days after strong winds at the end of October stirred the briny deep, these long rolling waves made landfall on the east-facing side of the tip of land, the Oshio Missaki, that juts into the Ocean.