By David Mundstock
My trip to Japan was four months ago, a return visit 21 years after I had been introduced to Japan by a tour way back in 1984. This time I was on my own, wearing out a JR rail pass, and choosing all the places I wanted to see plus photograph, preferring castles and temples to modern Japan.
I started with Matsumoto Castle, the exquisite black crow that originally hooked me on the strikingly beautiful castles of Japan. Unlike 1984, I had cameras this time for both stills and video. After Matsumoto I went to Nikko and then Kamakura to photograph the Giant Buddha, seeing both places for the first time. Kamakura's outdoor statue of Buddha is magnificent, far better than Nara's enclosed rival. From my Tokyo base, I tried to capture the Ginza on video, and also dutifully attempted to get decent pictures of the Emperor's Palace, finishing up that day in Asakusa, before heavy rains intervened.
Kyoto, my next stop, remains overwhelming. With 17 World Heritage Sites, it was impossible to photograph all of them. The Golden Pavilion produces great photos, along with the Fushimi-Inari Shinto Shrine and Kiyomizu Temple. I also saw/photographed the Nagoya, Hikone, and Himeji Castles for the first time. Himeji deserves its reputation as Japan's finest castle. I also returned to Osaka Castle, a restoration that sparkles. Another return visit was to Gion Corner in Kyoto, where the show had not changed much in 21 years, but it was important to film traditional Japanese entertainment. I saw Nara, which may have the world's most spoiled deer, demanding that tourists feed them.
Moving on to Hiroshima, I tried to present all the varied images that included the Peace Park, very close to both the Hiroshima Carp Baseball Stadium and the restored castle. My video uses music that tries to fit each of these places. Finally, I saw the Floating Shrine at both high and low tide. Quite a contrast there, since the shrine atop mud is entirely a different building from its famous high tide illusion of floating.
My trips are preserved as both videos and still picture galleries, available on line, so you can take a look at nearly everything I saw. The Japan video is called "Castles of the Rising Sun" and requires a high speed internet connection to be viewed. It's a free, non-commercial, streaming video on the Windows Media Player. No ads and no strings attached. I sell absolutely nothing.
My video site is:
http://www.geocities.com/intrepidberkeleyexplorer/Video.html
The still photo gallery of Japan can be viewed with any modem at:
http://www.geocities.com/intrepidberkeleyexplorer/Page27.html
I'm always very interested in feedback and would appreciate comments.
