A long day at the (campus) office...

 ... ending in a view of the water... (118/365, 28 Apr 2022)

I remember in my previous job, on a campus which was near the sea, that as I was coming to the end of my time there, I made a conscious decision to stop by the beach a few times a week since it seemed a bit silly that after almost 13 years of commuting (narrator: yes, thirteen years of commuting, 200km round trip each time, almost every day and occasional weekends) I hadn't really been taking advantage of being so close to the place where I feel most calm. 

Now, these days, as I am thinking of returning home, or the work day ends in a bit of a frazzle, I head towards the water, any body of water, to look, to reflect. You will recall dear reader, there have been a few such posts here of late. 

Today was one of those days. No longer Head of Department, but the meetings continue and you know (we all know) that member of staff who think only his opinions matter, who seems to make a game of testing out the new chair, who never advances anything (and draws the most complaints from students, but that's not his fault) and on it goes. A thirty minute meeting drags on for over two hours and then you're stuck doing the work you thought you were going to get done earlier gets done later...on the eve of seven days Golden Week holidays...

Then, there was the water...

As I walked down and back, I was acutely aware that walking in a park at 9:00pm is probably not something I would do at home; while I'm not blaze and remain alert, it is still a privilege in these times.

But capturing the lights and the water, settled my frazzles and then it was on to the station. Home, noting I should do more nighttime photography.

Today with the Canon EOS M5, 18-150mm lens.

A day at the (home) office...

 ...didn't get far ... (117/365, 27 Apr 2022)

A day that started with a meeting online and finished with an international meeting online, rain in between, and a concerted effort by me to get back into a research/writing groove between meetings. 

I didn't really get a chance to go out. And by the end of the day/evening, I just looked around and wondered 'how did I get here?' When I moved to this small apartment, it was only going to be for two years, before going home. The apartment search had basically two criteria: not too big because I'll be spending most of the time at the office/work; and two, enough room for a sofa bed because family were going to visit for the Olympics. Well, we know what happened there don't we. 

So this table I work on, am working on now, was not intended as a desk but mostly dining, and maybe a place to do some reading or writing, hobbies...you know, in that multifunctional way of the family dining table.

Well the dining table has become a desk of sorts, I spend much of my time here and even though we are largely moving back to the campus, all the books and resources I've brought home over the last two years have to find their way back to the office too. That wasn't in the plan either, the couple of small bookshelves I installed were just going to house my novel collection. 

So, at the end of the long day, I was about to shut down the laptop, my spirit guide for this year, snapped at the Tokyo Daibutsu during the January snowfall, stared at me and I reflected back, and I looked at the oddments around and I wondered 'how did I get here?'...

Yeah, I know how you feel

This has been a feature of my life for the past two years

Research notes

Snapped with the iPhone 12 mini.

There is rain...

 ... and then there is 'rain'... (116/365, 26 Apr 2022)

Working back in the office has become pretty much the norm, the new norm I suppose. We continue to wear masks, sanitise and check our temperature at the door, and although we try to avoid crowded commuting trains, well, we are not doing very well at that. Plastic partitions remain up in the common office spaces and classes above a certain number are online. Some subjects are just automatically online though, regardless of numbers, which is what I was doing today, an SDGs class online. I have things to say about this...but not today.

There were also meetings and a couple of extra classes I have to take for this first term. So it was a long day on the office, but also a rather odd day weather-wise. Rain and gusty winds mostly. Normally the rain blows in the other direction, but when it ends up raining against the window, we know we have strong winds out there. 

Today's pics are just that, because, photographically-speaking, I just like raindrops, wherever they are...

Bleak

Today I had the Canon EOS M5 18-150mm lens on hand.

I can put it off no longer...

...time for the azaleas... (115/365, 25 Apr 2022)

I am sometimes concerned that this blog is accidentally a blog about flowers and I don't really want to bore you, dear reader. I mean, how many flowers can you bear? But it is springtime in Japan, and so...well, flowers. 

The blossoms are the big event. Plums, then cherries, they come and the go. Then the camellias come on. In recent times, tulips bob up but now is the time of azaleas and rhododendrons. Pinks, whites, reds...and like flowers everywhere, there are popular crowded places and not so crowded places. 

The hedges along the road where I walk to the campus has just come into flower this past week. They are a bit scruffy, but endearing. They are not neatly manicured like the crowd-attracting hedges across town at Nezu for example, but they give us lots to admire and look at. Sometimes it is just about the light and shade... 

And during the day, the view from the office, particularly the cloud over the port, just, I don't know, for no real reason, just looked quite interesting.

Today's pics with the Canon EOS M5, 18-150mm lens attached. 

An incidental snap or two...

... on the way to bigger things... (114/365, 24 Apr 2022)

Yesterday's forecast for today was pretty well on the mark...rain for much of the day, one of those days you would rather do, well, not much really. And so it was, for much of the day. Certainly a good day for thinking and writing, perhaps resting along the way.

Around the time when one's mind turns to 'what should I have for late lunch/early dinner' (as is my habit), I thought that, since it is raining, it might be nice to hop on the bus and pop down to the little establishment come restaurant come 'oh, have I accidentally dropped into your lounge room' eatery down near Takashimadaira Station. I haven't been there for a few weeks because, in one instance, rain and another time was uni work-related things if I recall correctly, perhaps an extended one-day trip somewhere...

I thought initially that being a rainy evening, not many people would be there and as we emerge from Covid-restrictions (not entirely here, I hasten to add), it must be hard for lovely little establishments like this one to stay above the high water mark. (Have my mentioned their main speciality is lamb...actual lamb dishes which, on a Sunday night, always seem, shall we say,  just right.)

Anyway, before we get to the main story, let's look at those pics that ended up being incidental to the evening. You see, while waiting for the bus, I was going to write a story about these lovely little community vegetables patches you find around the place, a sort of collective if you like, where everyone tends their own little patch for the greater good. Quite an institution as it happens (and I gather a decent tax break for the landholder, but that might just be an urban myth). But that will have to hold for another day.

It is a great community, idea, there is a story to be told, just not today

Waiting for the bus

The night watch moth in the foyer

You see, once I arrived at said establishment, there were hardly any seats available, but being a 'new' regular, room was made for me. On the way home, I told the story on the tweets, and it went something like this...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So you might recall I came across a little establishment a few weeks ago, just a short bus trip from home, whereupon I thought I might have stumbled into some obscure religious cult, but they turned out to be fine and it was just like being invited into someone’s house. Yes? 1/5

 

And with today being a rainy day, and needing to get out of the house, I hopped on a bus thinking, ‘rainy day, it must be hard for small places on days like this’. So off I went. 2/5 #tokyolyf

 

Well, concerns unfounded. It was quite busy with people of a certain age, all enjoying themselves on a rainy Sunday eve. I may or may not heard all sorts of stories about people’s various relationships (too much info) and may, or may not, have been roped into my first … 3/5

 

…(ready?)… my first karaoke appearance in over thirty years. As for the details, I’m sorry but what happens in little establishments stays in little establishments. Suffice to say, the insights one gains into life and the meaning of the universe are priceless. 4/5 #tokyolyf

 

Will I return? Of course. I’m booked to sing one of their favourite songs in English. It will be Sinatra or Presley, I’ll bet, though I have been known to rip California Dreamin’ to mild acclaim. 5/5 #tokyolyf too much fun sometimes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The pics,  for what they are worth, were taken on the iPhone 12 mini, but today was not really a story about the pictures now, was it.

When Train A fails...

 ...take the B train ... (113/365, 23 Apr 2022)

Not surprisingly, today's post carries on a little from yesterday in terms of transport options, mainly trains. As much as I enjoy driving at home, I don't drive here, being in the fortunate position to have no real need to drive anywhere...there's always a train (and supplementary bus) to get me to where I have to go. 

Today, being a fine day, (compared to the rain forecast for tomorrow), I decided last night that in my continuing adventures of going places before I go home, I thought Odawara, a famous castle town just a little further along the line from Chigasaki, might be the go. I've been there before but it has been a few years. 

Woke up this morning to find that the train line was disrupted early on and at 10:00am, it was still uncertain when it might up and go. That left it a little pushed for time then, on when I might get there, when I might return. Time to turn to plan B... there's always a plan B waiting in the wings, sometimes it just doesn't know until it is called upon.

It was a little late too to switch to the other coastal area I quite like so when the coast can't be reached, head west(ish) on the home line, which is just what I did. In posts previously, I've talked of trips to Kawagoe, and one earlier this year to Ogawamachi, home of craft beers and sake, and lovely paper products.Today I opted for a familiar place, the Shinrin Koen, a national park in Saitama stretching over some 300hectares. It is the first designated nation park in Japan and was established for the centenary of the Meiji era (1968, although it didn't open officially until 1974). And just less than an hour from home. Also, on the weekend, there is a shuttle bus service from the station to the entrance of the park. All very convenient. I anticipated some interesting flora, being spring, but I was also hoping to capture (photographically-speaking, of course) some of the birdlife... So I packed the full camera bag and off I went.

There is a certain familiarity with this train line of course, but also coming this far out west too always brings with it a little nostalgia, as it passes through the station I used to travel to to attend classes on the Saitama campus of my first university here in Japan...once a week. It was a longer trip back then, they didn't have as many express trains back in the day. But I digress. It is always nice to get out into the country.

Not surprisingly, quite a few people had the same idea today. it was a day for it. Disappointingly, on the one hand, I didn't *see* many birds (apart from the resident ducks, of course) but I *heard* many, and really, just to sit and pause and take in the sounds of all the chirps and tweets, was reward in itself. A lovely day really. After all, it is not all about the photos now is it. Is it?

Imagine having this park on your back doorstep...

Tunnel to...

...here, actually

The Centenary Commemoration Tower/structure

Have you really been to a park if you haven't seen the resident duck(s)

Spring contrast, or Rabbitohs colours, depending where you are from (niche, I know)

Something about reflections...

On the return to the station, I was back just in time to sample a coffee from a lovely little place I spotted on the map. It really is heartening to see young people setting up these wonderful little establishments in these towns, just I like I saw in Ogawamachi, a few stops further along. I will have to return.

Today, I took nearly all the equipment, the Canon EOS 90D and associated lenses but ended up using the 70-300mm and 24-105mm. The birds, and the 400mm lens, can wait for another day.