...the snow came (6/365, 6 Jan 2022)
And off I went to the local temple, well, the Tokyo Daibutsu in fact. I've photographed it in autumn, I've photographed it in spring, with the cherry blossoms in full bloom (in fact there is a post here); but how often do we see it with snow? Well, not often was everyone's verdict today and in spite of still being early in the New Year, and at the tailend of the week where people can make their first visit to a temple for the year, I was kind of fortunate that there weren't many people around. OK, the weather might have had something to do with that but that's what I was here for.
And apologies in advance but...there are lots of pics. Even though I've spent a fair bit of time in Japan now, and even though I am kind of used to the snow...there's still a bit of 'wow, it's snowing' Queenslander in me. In the suburban areas, it is actually a bit dangerous, it is easy to slip and/or fall and you have to adapt your walking style to make sure you stay upright (says me the resident Tokyo Queenslander now sounding like an expert...). The road down to the entrance is quite a steep slope too so I wasn't quite sure what I might be in for.
Anyway, I caught the bus there to make it in time before they closed the gate, but walked home. It really is that close. As I noted in a twitter post earlier, the lovely women in my local convenience store thought it was all a bit funny (as in weird funny) but they're are used to that with me (see, buying all the newspapers on election day etc).
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| At the entrance |
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| The snow was really starting to pelt down (does snow 'pelt'?) |
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| Possibly my favourite scene in these grounds |
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| The sakura trees |
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| I'm used to leaving my footprints in the sand... |
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| I did not expect to see... |
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| ...flowers in bloom |
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| Prayer offerings |
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| Kind of sums up the year, so far |
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| All seven 'lucky gods' reside here |
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| Palm fronds in the snow |
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| On the path to the Daibutsu |
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| The path ahead |
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| Not just my footprints today |
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| Freshly placed 2022 wishes |
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| I'm sure the gods won't mind the snowdrift |
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| The koi pond--they weren't moving much today |
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| No colour editing, not B&W, just the snow |
And on the walk home...
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| Snow settles everywhere, even making the rubbish nets look picturesque |
I have a bit of history with this Great Buddha, the Tokyo Daibutsu. As a student back in the early days, a few of us were first introduced to it as part of a general history tour of Itabashi. About twenty years ago, no, maybe nearly thirty years ago, we featured it in a textbook for language learners my colleagues and I wrote. We thought then, everyone knows the Kamakura Daibutsu, let's showcase this one. At the time it was considered the third largest in the country but now it is a little further down the list. Still I enjoy visiting it on a regular basis.
None of today's photos was edited for colour, the effect of the snow makes them look black and white. There is a little cropping in places and some editing for balance but all in 'colour'. It was cold, and I did wonder whether the cam would give out on me, but it worked well. But gosh it was cold. Would I do it again? Yep, in an instant. I'm a Queenslander--and it SNOWED!
Today featured the Canon EOS 90D again with the 24-105mm lens. I did take the 100-300mm just in case, but in all honesty, it was too cold (and wet) to manage a safe changeover. Most of the pics on the walk home, on the iPhone 12 mini, I had to really focus on not slipping.
(*Please respect the copyright ©, happy to share if you ask... 😊)
Tomorrow is a work day at home...but I can't rule out some melting snow pics...
