Houses and Views ~ Beauty of Japan
Been a while since we took a walk. I should do these more often, but after editing photos for clients throughout the day, I sometimes am just not in the mood to do it for Hive as well. But today I am! Let's go!
I took a walk, as I often do. During which I captured random shots. Not too many this time, but some of them might pique your interest.
We'll start with this new house with a somewhat depressing "yard".
Many new houses lack yards. This wasn't uncommon for older ones either, however it seems like having a yard was a bit more prevalent in the past. Now, a driveway or just enough space to park without sticking too far into the street is often the norm. In this case, it looks like the homeowners were wealthy enough to afford enough space for a yard. Yet, they paved it. With the two small spaces for trees, they can't even use it all for parking. I suppose they had their reasons, but it seems like a a pretty odd choice!
Speaking of odd choices...
I suppose that entire building is actually a single family house. I know it looks more like an apartment, but that gate is something you'd see in front of a family home. Seeing lifeless concrete built in a brutalist or neobrutalist style is not exactly uncommon around Japan, but seeing a traditional Japanese gate placed right in front of one makes for a strange juxtaposition.
Let's flip the orientation to show you a bit of a wider view.
On the architecture theme, here is an old one that was probably built in the 1980s, an era when Sony was more on top of the world than they are today.
While other shops occupy this space, Sony remains the centerpiece. Not much inside the store, I'm afraid. It looks like an old half-abandoned store on the inside too. It has that smell of a building from the 1960s that many older shopping centers have.
From the old, we jump to the new!
This is a wonderful new library that was built only a few years ago. Older libraries in Japan follow the stereotypical view of a dark and stuffy space with shelves from floor to ceiling. Newer libraries, in contrast, embrace a much more bright and open style.
A few days ago I posted a haiku that I said was written in an atrium space. It was here! I come here often actually.
Finally we'll end it with a nice river view I took. I'm sure I've featured shots from this river bank many many times, probably from a similar spot or maybe even this same one. My wife and I lived in an apartment right here when she gave birth to our first son, so I have good memories of this place. This area is somewhat central in the city, so I often find myself passing by while cycling between jobs.
Well, that's all. Any jump out at you?
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David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. |
Wow, what a spacious and bright library.
The framed photograph is beautiful, it has a spectacular sky.
Greetings.
Saludos.
Yes, it's a very beautiful building.
Thanks for the comment!
That gate reminds me of the houses you see in the movies where it looks like a regular building from the outside but then you walk through the door and it is a courtyard with balconies surrounding it.
When I see something like this I always think of the Karate Kid. Remember when Mr Miyagi takes Daniel back home for the first time. It looks like a kind of nothing house, but then Daniel steps into the back yard and there is this amazing Japanese garden. I always get the feeling if I went through one of these traditional gates I would be transported to a scene like that.
Ah yeah, that is cool. I understand what you are talking about. That garden in his back yard was amazing. Plus all the cars!
Wow, this library is so modern and nice. I could spend a whole day here.
My parents had a garden, but it seemed to be very hard to take care of. If left unattended, it would soon become covered with weeds, so weeding was a must, and the fruit from the persimmon, tangerine, and kumquat trees would fall off and rot.
Yes, I think gardens are beautiful, but they require either a lot of work or a lot of money to pay people to maintain. On one hand, I would love to have one. On the other hand, I think I wouldn't be very diligent about maintaining it so it wouldn't look good much of the time.
Beautiful photos. I love the Kawara roof very much. People don't use Kawara in my hometown, Hokkaido, so it's very cool to see it in Honshu. I like the second photo which has the Japanese-style genkan with a modern building
Oh, do Hokkaido houses not use kawara roof tiles? I didn't know that! Interesting. They are so common here in Honshu that I just assumed it was the same all over Japan.
Yeah, we have heavy snow, so we can't install a Kawara roof even though it looks cool. Also, we don't have Amado windows to protect us from typhoon storms!