Uni 'holidays' mean different things...

 ...to different people ... (59/365, 28 Feb 2022)

And, we have reached the end of the second month of the year. Already. Already so much has happened, maybe we could just take the rest of the year off. And when it comes to 'university holidays', people have this impression that we as academics have about one-half or two-thirds of the year to ourselves--to write, to think, to converse. No, I'm afraid not. Today was a series of meetings from the early start of the day to the evening end of the day. Tomorrow is the same, rinse, repeat. Actually, much of the rest of the week looks the same, as we wrap up the current academic year and prepare for the new one commencing in April.

There was a brief window of time when I managed to step outside to go and buy the paper, and some groceries for tonight, before it all started again. There was only time to 'look up' really, but that, as a photographer-type (amateur) can in and of itself, be rather important. 

Today the neighbourhood plum blossom was in bloom. It is the only one on this block and when it goes off, we know that the sakura blossoms are not far behind. 

I had a moment to look at the clouds too...thinking of home, in Brisbane, which is weathering (literally) 2011 type flooding again. Times like this it is hard to be away. 

A wispy, painterly effect in the sky today

And a few defeats in meetings today too...people who insist on their own approaches being the right ones, in spite of experts and specialists sitting in the same room, seeking to offer more tangible solutions. Oh well, so goes the academic merry-go-round. Almost time to get off.

Today's pics snapped with the iPhone 12 mini, that's all I had time for...tomorrow is another day, oh wait, of meetings. Hmm.

Where the river runs...

 ... or maybe a wide canal... (58/365, 27 Feb 2022)

There remains much going on that makes a blog like this seem, well, irrelevant really, save for making notes of the day(s) as they pass. Ukrainians continue to resist and there have even been some protests in Tokyo in support of Ukraine and peace. 

At home in Brisbane, we are facing floods reminiscent of February 2011. I went to work one day and by the end of the day was 'stranded' up the Coast, with the highway cut off through floodwaters. Fortunately, I was able to stay with friends. 

Today in Tokyo was like most other days. We are wary of high Covid case numbers and the weather remains clear and sunny, the temp even rose to a reasonable 17degC, though winds in the afternoon cut that back a bit. 

My early plan was to head to a high point in Tokyo, Skytree perhaps, or maybe Sunshine60 to catch a glimpse of Mt Fuji but the clear clear skies didn't last, and I expected hazy views. I'll leave that for another day. I thought about heading to Asakusa, another tourist spot to see before the tourists return...but being Sunday I thought, maybe a lot of other locals might have had the same idea...

A bike ride was also on the list, until the winds. Yes, they were that strong. So it was onto a bus to explore one of the local parks, about twenty minutes away but also, according to the map, quite near a major waterway...water! Let's explore.

So I did. Off to Azusawa Park and surrounds (also near where the Yanagisawa saxophone brand was born--yes, I settled on a Yanagisawa sax in my search last year, because of this local connection...but they are also very good horns).

I was rather surprised to see what I saw. Quite a reasonable expanse of water but also the familiar apartment blocks. Nearby Takashimadaira was one of the original 'danchi' mass housing projects during the postwar economic boom. I'll feature them one day (it was almost an option today), mainly because I did photograph them 30 years ago in my student days and I'd like to compare then and now. But I digress.  

A bit of a double negative here, NO!! to 'no lead' for dogs... I had to read it a couple of times...

Local sculpture 'River Breeze' (川風)

The Shinkansen bridge

Things that shouldn't be in trees, part 1

How strong was the wind? This strong...

Things that shouldn't be in trees, part 2

Waiting for the bus, at the end of the walk

I was also a bit surprised to see the northern Shinkansen pass through here too. I mean, on one level, it had to be so, I've caught that Shinkansen several times... but yes, interesting to get your bearings. I also imagine this will be a nice (secret) spot to view the sakura when they bloom...but that's our secret. Turned out, the actual 'park' I set out to visit, didn't have much to see, all the action was riverside. 

Stepped out with the Canon EOS M5, 18-150mm. Handy.

A street paved with gold...

 ...not really, but it has been a long time ... (57/365, 26 Feb 2022)

It is hard to get on with life as the attack on Ukraine intensifies, and its people are in danger. I err on the side of despair as an International Politics/Peace Studies specialist on the one hand, but also, I can't give up that easily. 

After a couple of online seminars this morning, I decided I had enough time left in the day to make a dash to the last day of a photography exhibition in, of all places, the Ginza. Now, I haven't been there for a while but I thought oh, well, why not. It was one of the places I first learnt about studying Japanese 'Gold Street, or Seat', famous for its shopping and neon lights. It is certainly a place visitors like to go to when they first come to Japan. 

There was a music shop I used to go to here quite often (until I discovered its Ikebukuro branch, only to learn last week that it has closed), everything from instruments to sheet music to CDs, the full deal spread over seven or eight floors. I wondered what it might be like now...and it turned out although it is still there, the floor space has been dramatically reduced. Another consequence of the last couple of years I guess.

And since I was here in the afternoon, early evening, I figured, photographically-speaking, I should hang around for nightfall and have a look at those neon lights through the lens. So I detoured to a tempura restaurant, a bit of a luxury in the Ginza but, well, I don't know when I'll be back here do I.

The neons are a bit more, shall we say, subtle, in keeping with the upmarket stores that line the 'golden' streets these days.

The Canon Gallery, in a little side street

Home, James

Good to see the Mitsukoshi Lion masking up though. 

Yes, not a big fan of night time shots, need some work and probably the main cam. Tonight was with the Canon EOS M5, 18-150mm lens, but I really need to work on my night shots. Besides, inspired by @/ Hashimuki-san's work, I'd like to go and see Mt Fuji again.

Further signs of Spring...

 ... it's all in the tweets... (56/365, 25 Feb 2022)

One of those days of odd scheduling...a meeting at 5:00pm. Friday. It is Friday and I had a meeting at 5:00pm. On the positive side of things, it's online so...I could plan a day around getting to the office at that time, or stay home and work. As it turned out, it was the day at home. Catching up on some things, thinking about others. 

The signs of Spring are all around and today was considerably warmer during the day, compared with recent times. Temps actually made it into double figures (well, just, but 11-12degC is warmer than recently). And so it was while I was thinking about some content for an article I am drafting, I heard the first (perhaps the original) tweets coming from outside. 

Over in the trees in the neighbourhood park, the birds are starting to make their Springy presence known. I reckon there might be a nest in this tree before too long, about the time the pink of the blossoms provide suitable camouflage. 

The little black and white twitterer, a bit of a ground-dweller, reminds me of the willy-wagtails at home for their movement and the peewees for their colour. 'Hakusekirei' in Japanese, it is also known as a Japanese pied wagtail...so how's that. A relative of the willy wagtail at home!

The Pied Wagtail

Spring skies, blossoms incoming

The pigeon is hanging around on my balcony a bit, up on the aircon unit, then on the railing and over to the wires. A bit of cooing going on there too. Spring is certainly approaching.

Today, because I was home, a combination of the Canon EOS 90D, 70-300mm from the balcony and the M5, 18-150mm, to capture the wagtail in the park.

Portside...

 ...everyone has their job to do... (55/365, 24 Feb 2022)

Once I return home, or retire from this job, whichever comes first, I will be forever grateful that every working day, every day in the office, I had this view.

When I first arrived, I imagined in that very Virginia Woolf way, that at last I had a 'room of my own' and that much writing would happen in between classes. In the modern academic parlance too, I had finally arrived at a place where the bulk of research funding was provided by the university--enough for travel, enough for resources, enough to proceed with my work. Previously, I had funded all my research myself, including annual trips to Japan. The previous uni had deemed my work unworthy of support and in Australia, if you can't get a hand up on the research funding wheel...you don't get anywhere. (Except for packing up and arriving at 'this room with a view'.) 

Of course, the writing side hasn't quite turned out as expected, and research field work of course in these last couple of years has been severely restricted. My admin roles have taken up much more time than I anticipated. But that is all another story for another day.

For almost two years of the Covid pandemic, Tokyo was under a State of Emergency which meant our access to campus was also severely limited. I didn't really see this view for much of those two years. It is nice to be back in that sense though, I get to watch the ships go in and out, the work on the wharf...it really is a hive of activity.

Today my eye caught one rather brightly coloured ship turning about to head off. From there, it was just a few minutes of again being simultaneously entranced and inspired by the movements on the port. Today, as Russia effectively declared war on neighbouring Ukraine and all the 'security experts' really had no answers (which is why peace studies experts, ought to be given a chance).

We all have our work to do. 

Today was the view from the 10th floor, with the Canon EOS M5, 18-150mm. 

A day in two parts...

 ...and a Hitchcock moment ... (54/365, 23 Feb 2022)

Today was a mid-week public holiday, the Emperor's Birthday. And uni was actually closed too. (During the semesters, we tend to prioritise the timetable which means a lots of public holidays are actually work days though we do get them in lieu at different times of the year.)

I had three options: stay in and write up some articles I have in the pipeline, just do nothing (i.e. slouch on the couch and read), and option three, take a day trip to the beach. Option three won out. It was a trip to Kamakura in the end, but instead of my usual tracks to the beach, turn left and head to the surf club, I turned right at the beach, long walk along same and then up the beach and onto the Kamakura Daibutsu. I guess the visits to our local Tokyo Daibutsu had got me thinking about Kamakura. Funnily enough, this time around, despite all the times I've been to Kamakura, I hadn't been to the Daibutsu. In fact, I was thinking, it might be close to ten years or more since I've been there, when some friends were visiting Tokyo and their trip coincided with my research trip. Anyway, with the underlying theme of the fear of missing out, off I went. 

First stop at Kamakura is to the natural donut shop. Best donuts. I bought one, with the view to enjoying it on the beach at the end of the twenty minute walk. Honey and ginger...mmm. Got to the beach, sat down, and 'swoop', skinned on my ear and snatched from my hand by one of the local hawk-like birds, the tobi. That's never happened before. Rather disappointed, I must say. And there I was thinking I was being good by buying just one. Next time, one for me, one for the birds...

Oh well, on to the beach. Lucky I didn't bring my board, the waves were flat as, although the long-boarders were getting something out of it. A few paddle boarders too. As always, lots of interesting shells and bits and pieces to look at too. I was particularly pleased to find a couple of the delicate 'sakura' shells (there is a fellow down this way who collects them and makes amazing sculpture pieces), along with a couple of pieces of ceramic bits...which could have any story to them. A group in Miyagi, at Ishinomaki, take broken pieces of ceramics, salvaged from the tsunami, and make them into jewelry and objects.

Tobi with donut (possibly this one, or its cousin)

The Kamakura Headland, kind of like Moffat Headland at home, kind of.

One of the delicate sakura shells in situ

Favourite surf shot today

The shapes and textures in the sand, on the tideline

Paddle boarder

Always remember and respect it is a fishing village first...

I could stay on the beach all day, even when it is only 6 deg C. But today's objective was the Daibutsu. So back up the beach and on to Hase, and up the road to the temple.

The classic pose

Might be my fave shot today

The short poem attributed to Yosano

Work/research never far away, local member of the Rokken Dems, Waseda Yuki

Blossoms!

It is probably a good opportunity to try and see all the tourist attractions while the tourists aren't here. It wasn't too crowded today which was nice and one of my favourite parts of the Daibutsu is actually walking around the garden around the back. There is a poem by early feminist Yosano Akiko as well. And a small refreshment stall serving up some much appreciated warm amazake.

After a walk around and a few pics, it was back to the station and back home. Quite a pleasant day trip. I'll do the writing tonight. Or tomorrow.

Travelled today with Canon EOS M5, 18-150mm all-rounder, and happened to walk almost 16,000 steps!