&mdash; Tokyo Green Space

public space, Walking and transit

船長と他の制服を着た乗務員が小笠原丸のドアを閉めます。今回で、小笠原の写真ツアーは終わりです。また今度、もう一度、小笠原丸に乗りたいです。

I thought there’s no better end to this travelogue about Ogasawara than this photo of the captain and crew getting ready to shut the door to the ship prior to departure.

Strange Tokyo Bay view of working ships

April 18, 2013

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東京湾の中で、ひき船とクレーンは海の商業のしるしです。

There’s something very unknown and exciting in seeing working vessels in a modern harbor. Returning to Tokyo, in the foreground is the Ogasawara Maru’s light fixture. In the center of the frame a tugboat pulls a barge with a giant crane. The vista is wide open, and the sea moving at its own pace.

Uncoupling the containers signals that we’re getting close to port

April 10, 2013

次の日の朝１０時ごろ、運送用コンテナを止めていたワイヤーがはずされました。やっと、港が近いと分かりました。

It’s about 10 am, about 24 hours into the boat trip, when I notice this worker uncoupling the containers. We must be arriving in port soon. Behind the worker and the containers, that’s a lot of ocean!

Colorful tourists include a few dogs on Ogasawara Maru ship

April 9, 2013

Walking and transit, biodiversity

おしゃれな日本の観光客が多いです。小笠原丸に乗っていた犬もリボンを着けています。

I love how well dressed Japanese tourists are. Even the dog is wearing a bow.

Unfortunately, on both the outbound and return ship, the weather was too rough for the early morning captain’s tour. We’ll have to go another time to catch the tour.

What second class cabin looks like on the Ogasawara Maru

April 8, 2013

小笠原丸の2等船室は、若い人だけがたえられそうです。私には勇気がありません。

I think the massive shared rooms in second class are probably best suited for college students and the young. A quick peak made our efficient and utilitarian cabin seem very posh.

Matching camera and photographer camo raincoats

April 6, 2013

大きいカメラとカメラマンは同じカモフラージュのレインコートを着ています。

These guys were prepared for cold weather, and spent hours monitoring the sea for birds, dolphins, and whales.

“Snack” cafe onboard evokes the comforts of land

April 5, 2013

おがさわら丸にも、スナックがあります。

Meal times are very limited onboard in the main cafeteria, but the “snack” stays open longer hours. I love the homey pink polka dot curtain.

Rough seas with no land in sight

April 4, 2013

外洋にいることは、不思議な気持ちです。人によって、船の旅はきびしそうです。

It’s a strange feeling to be in the open sea. In my opinion, only 4 or 5 hours were truly difficult out of the 50 hour round trip voyage. Others have different experiences, even on the same boat.

Leaving Tokyo, the view through a gauzy cabin curtain

April 3, 2013

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都市に出るとき、わくわくします。小さな部屋から、東京湾の風景が見えます。

Leaving the metropolis produces feeling of excitement, and some trepidation about a 25 hour boat trip. At least we were in a 4 person room with a table, chairs bolted to the floor, and bunk beds.

Cargo is loaded prior to departure

April 2, 2013

おがさわら丸は貨物をたくさん運びます。巨大な歯車を操作しているおじさんの仕事は正確です。

I love how the passengers share the Ogasawara Maru with a large load of cargo packed in containers. These giant gears operated by a senior citizen control such exact placement.

Escape by boat to nature sanctuary on the very far side of Tokyo

April 1, 2013

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最近、東京から離れることを考えていました。３月に、小笠原の父島に旅行しました。交通は船だけで、２５時間かかります。小笠原丸のデザインが好きです。逞しくて、効率的で、簡素です。

April 1 is the start of the business and school years in Japan. Recently my thoughts have turned to escaping the city, which I recently accomplished. What better than a long sea voyage to the remote island of Chichijima? Sub-tropical and isolated from continental evolution, Chichijima is part of the Ogasawara islands one thousand kilometers south of Tokyo. Administratively, they are part of Tokyo. Yet a far side of Tokyo removed from ordinary urban life.

Of the two options, we chose the 25 hour ferry boat from Hamamatsucho over the mega-cruise ship out of Yokohama. Given the amount of time in transit, the boat itself is a major element of visiting the islands. This large ship called Ogasawara Maru carries up to a thousand people as well as all supplies, cars, and even livestock for the few thousand inhabitants of this island group.

The design evokes Japanese efficiency and optimism of the 1980s, sturdy, reliable, with few frills and no luxuries. I love the dolphin artwork, and brass rails. Unfortunately, because of the weather and conditions, the captain’s tour was canceled on both directions.

Sun lit mansion on way to Nodai campus

March 19, 2013

Nodai, public space, Residences, small streets, Tokyo University of Agriculture, trees, Walking and transit

public space, small business, Walking and transit

経堂駅と農大のあいだに、まだいくつかの古い家や大きい庭や成木が残っています。学生の茶色の髪と木の塀がうまく合っています。

Between Kyodo station and Nodai’s campus, a few old mansions remain with large yards and mature trees. The bicycling student’s brown hair matches the wood fence.

Lush pink potted hellebore signals end of winter, outside tonkatsu restaurant

March 18, 2013