14.7.13

KAWAGOE



















A very long post of another long and rainy day in Kawagoe. The place is famous for the clay warehouses from the Edo period, I've never seen so many gathered in one place, and so beautifully preserved. It's not my first time there, but HC had never been, and I think he enjoyed it a lot more than Karuizawa.

As I was sifting through the photos, I was thinking about my classica and minolta, the way I use them and how the photos would turn out. There are many a times when I would see something and instinctively feel that this should be a 'classical shot' and vice-versa, though recently I've been pulling out my classica more and more, simply because it's a point-and-shoot and I've been feeling under the weather and rather lazy. But I think it's time I wean myself off the classica and get back to feeling good about my minolta again.

I like how the SLR slows me down, and makes me think a bit.


9.7.13

A LAKE, A BREAK & IT'S BACK TO TOKYO












Kumoba-ike (雲場池) in the rain.

A little cafe in the woods - ル シエル. Lovely, but pricey.

The famous Karuizawa fog casting a dreamy spell before we left.


6.7.13

OF RAINDROPS & FRESH SPRING LEAVES

My own little totoro moment. We were in Karuizawa for the day.

Just to get out of the rain a bit, we headed for the old Mikasa Hotel. It was the oldest western-style hotel resort in Japan, built entirely by Japanese architects and carpenters in 1905.

As a carpenter's daughter, anything made of wood instantly appeals to me.





The hotel was actually a lot smaller than we thought and fell a little short of expectations, but we enjoyed the walk back to the bus stop immensely. Look at all those fresh spring leaves!

Later on, at the Harunire Terrace (ハルニレ・テラス) for lunch. It's a newly opened cluster of restaurants and shops at the Hoshino area.




As usual, I can't get enough of the trees.